lilllin'M!!!!! 


H  EN  ry: 


V  '■ 

1 

b 

Kii. 

1 

,1    !  ii      li   Mil  1 

■   il    1^ 

::|!i|           h!         lip.' 

11  iii  1 


niiiiiiiiimititiihiiiiiiiiimiiiti 

!;;>■  i>;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiit)ii 

'  '  Jli!llili!llilllitli!iltiillii 


uiiiliiJiliiiiilliitliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilUii 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


Etngg  auD  Ciuecne  of  (guglanP 

EDITED    BY 

ROBERT  S.   RAIT  M.A.  and  WILT.IAM    PAGE    F.S.A. 


HENRY   V 


HENRY  V 
Queen's  College,  Oxford 


HENRY    V 


Rf  BfMOWAT    M.A. 


V 


FELLOW  AKD  ASSISTANT  TUTOK   OF 
CORPUS  CHRISTI  COLLEGE.  OXFORD 


ILLUSTRATED 


BOSTON 

HOUGHTON   MIFFLIN   COMPANY 

1920 


ID/A  x^-X 


h\L^ 


Printed  in  Great  Britain 


CONTENTS 


cirAi'TKi; 

I.     Early  Veaus  ..... 

II.     Wales      ...... 

III.  BURGUNDIAN    AND    ArMAGNAC 

IV.  The  Legendary  and  the   Real  Henry 
V.     The  Accession  of  Henry  V   . 

VI.     The  French  War    .... 

VII.     Harfleur         ..... 

VIII.     Agincourt         ..... 

IX.       SiGISMUND  .  .  . 

X.  The  Conquest  ok  Normandy   . 

XI.  The  Treaty  ok  Troyes  . 

XII.  France  akteu  the  Treaty  ok  Tr(jyes 

XIII.  Henry  in  England 

XIV.  The  Last  Expedition 

XV.     The  Last  Days  ok  Henry   V  . 
XVI.     The  Work  and  Character  ok  HENR^    V 

APPENDICES 
I.     Itinerary  ok  Henry  V    . 
II.     Biuliograkhy    ...... 

Index         ....... 


I'A'-iK 
1 

12 

37 

60 

86 

103 

128 

138 

165 

189 

214 

238 

251 

201 

275 

287 

321 
325 
331 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Portrait  of  Henry  V  (Queen'i^  College,  Oxford)         frontispiece 
Hknrv  V  ((Corpus  Cliristi  College,  (  .ambridge)       facing  page       40 


Portrait  of  Henry  V  (National  Portrait  (iallery) 
Portrait  of  Henry  V  (Eton  College) 
How  Earl  FIu;hari>  besieged  the  Town  of  Caen- 
How  Earl  Richard  was  at  the  Siege  (»f  Rouen 

How  Kin<;   Henry  V  was   married   to    Dame 
Katherine  of  France     ..... 

Henry  \'  (Cotton  MS.,  Julin^;  E.  IV.  f.  8  b.) 


98 
160 
202 
212 

238 
272 


MAPS 


Plan  of  Agincourt 

Plan  of  Caen  . 

Plan  of  the  Town  of  Rouen 

Map  of  France 


148 
198 

206 
306 


HENRY  V 

CHAPTER    I 

EARLY  YEARS 

The  life  of  a  medieval  monarch  was  not  an  easy  one. 
To  maintain  his  position,  he  had  to  work  hard  and 
continuously.  Although  there  are  records  of  mis- 
spent time,  yet  on  the  whole  the  history  of  medieval 
kings  is  one  of  unremitting  and  sustained  exertion. 
Whether  in  war  or  in  peace  their  life  was  spent  in  the 
saddle  ;  almost  their  sole  diversion  was  the  furious 
chase  of  deer  ;  almost  their  sole  rest  before  death 
was  to  attend  the  devotions  of  the  Church.  It  was 
only  their  rude  hammering  that  kept  feudal  society 
together  ;  and  it  was  only  a  few  that  did  not  die  in 
what  we  now  call  the  prime  of  life,  in  the  midst  of 
some  rough  undertaking,  some  task  of  preserving 
order,  some  military  expedition. 

Great  responsibility  cannot  be  given  to  anybody 
without  great  power.  The  medieval  kings  controlled 
the  destinies  of  turbulent  peoples  with  an  iron  hand. 
Therefore  many  of  them  had  faults  coming  from  their 
great  power,  their  own  lack  of  control.    Yet  gradually 


2  HENRY  V  [1387 

they  led  their  peoples  to  a  condition  of  peace  in  their 
own  borders,  and  to  a  sense  of  national  worth  abroad. 
And  some  were  fortunate  enough  to  capture  the 
sentiments  of  humanity,  to  attract  the  reverence  and 
love  of  their  own  time  and  succeeding  ages.  France 
has  her  St.  Louis,  the  strenuous  though  meek  and 
kindly  king.  England  has  her  kings  as  heroes  too, 
good  and  brave  men.  But  the  blood  of  the  Angevins, 
however  diluted,  except  in  Henry  VI,  stopped  short 
of  saintliness.  Henry  V  in  his  day  was  held  to 
be  the  pattern  of  a  chivalrous  knight  :  round 
his  name  has  centred  the  romance  of  medieval 
England  ;  in  his  person  Shakespeare  found  already 
expressed  the  glory  of  the  Elizabethan  Age,  the 
symbol  of  our  national  aspirations.  The  character 
of  Henry  V  has  many  of  the  faults,  but  all  the  virtues 
of  his  time  ;  and  the  memory  of  virtues  is  constant  ; 
his  kindness  and  good-fellowship  ;  his  bravery  and 
sense  of  justice ;  his  unremitting  industry ;  his 
piety. 

Henry  of  Monmouth  was  born  in  the  castle  of  the 
town  of  that  name  in  the  west  of  England  on  9  August, 
1387,  in  the  reign  of  king  Richard  II.  Welshmen 
were  specially  pleased  that  a  great  prince  was  born 
among  them.^ 

Henry  of  Bolingbroke,  Earl  of  Derby,  the  father 
of  young  Henry  of  Monmouth,  was  the  eldest  sur- 
viving son  of  John  of  Gaunt,  Duke  of  Lancaster, 
and  grandson  of  king  Edward  III.     He  was  not  a 

^  First  English  Life  of  Henry  V  (ed.  C.  L.  Kingsford). 


1387]  EARLY  YEARS  3 

strong  man  physically,  and  his  son,  young  Henry, 
inherited  a  tendency  to  weak  health.  John  of  Gaunt 
by  his  loose  way  of  living  shortened  not,  it  is  true,  his 
own  vigorous  life,  but  that  of  his  immediate  de- 
scendants. The  fault,  however,  does  not  wholly  lie 
with  John  of  Gaunt,  but  extends  to  others  of  the 
Lancastrian  forbears. 

Young  Henry's  mother  was  Mary  de  Bohun,  in 
whom,  with  one  sister,  the  line  of  the  Earls  of  Here- 
ford closed  a  pugnacious  and  glorious  career.  But 
although  the  brothers  of  Henry  of  Bolingbroke 
(excluding  half-brothers)  all  died  in  infancy,  and 
although  Mary  de  Bohun  was  almost  the  last  of  her 
race,  yet  the  old  stocks  were  not  exhausted.  Ill- 
health  could  never  break  the  spirit  of  the  elder 
Henry  ;  his  life  was  noble,  upright,  active  ;  though 
subject  in  his  later  years  to  some  form  of  eczema  and 
epilepsy,  he  shrank  from  no  labour  in  the  field  or  at 
the  council-table  ;  in  his  way  of  life  he  was  self- 
restrained,  sober,  courteous  ;  and  when,  in  1413,  he 
laid  down  the  crown,  which  he  had  held,  if  not 
gained,  with  honour,  he  left  behind  him  four  sons, 
whose  talents  were  of  the  highest,  and  whose  careers, 
though  not  long,  as  the  span  of  life  is  counted  now, 
were  full  of  glory.  Of  these  sons,  Henry  of  Mon- 
mouth was  the  first-born. 

The  father,  the  elder  Henry,  had  been  married  to 
Mary  de  Bohun  in  1381,  he  being  then  aged  fourteen, 
and  his  bride  not  yet  twelve.  She  did  not,  however, 
leave  her  mother's  house  at  once.     On  31  January 


4  HENRY  V  [1387 

John  of  Gaunt,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  the  elder  Henry's 
father,  entered  into  a  bond  to  pay  to  Dame  Bohun, 
Countess  of  Hereford,  one  hundred  marks  annually 
for  the  cost  and  charge  of  his  daughter-in-law,  Mary, 
Countess  of  Derby,  until  she  should  attain  the  age 
of  fourteen.  1  At  the  age  of  sixteen,  probably,  the 
young  bride  went  to  live  with  her  husband,  and  they 
fixed  their  establishment  in  Monmouth  Castle,  one 
of  the  possessions  of  John  of  Gaunt.  There  young 
Henry  was  born.  But  the  birth  of  the  young  lord 
(as  he  is  generally  styled  in  the  chronicles)  had  not 
the  importance  in  public  estimation  then  that  was  later 
attached  to  it.  There  is  no  actual  contemporary 
record  of  the  fact.  The  importance  which  was 
attached  to  it  later,  after  young  Henry  had  become 
great,  is  emphasised  by  many  traditions  which  the 
assiduous  compilers  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries  loved  to  transcribe.  It  is  said  that  the 
elder  Henry  was  absent  when  the  birth  occurred,  and 
that  the  first  man  to  inform  him  was  the  ferryman  at 
Goodrich,  where  Henry  crossed  the  Wye,  on  his  rapid 
journey  from  Windsor  to  Monmouth.  It  is  said 
further  that  Henry  was  a  sickly  babe  (his  health, 
indeed,  was  never  robust),  and  that  he  was  nursed, 
not  in  the  castle,  but  in  the  neighbouring  village  of 
Court  field.  In  any  case  the  family  did  not  remain 
long  at  Monmouth  ;  they  seem  to  have  gone  to  London, 
where,  within  a  year  of  the  birth  of  young  Henry,  a 

^  Quoted  by  Tyler,  Henry  oj  Monmouth,  I,  8  note,  from  the  Pells 
Rolls. 


1387-99]  EARLY  YEARS  5 

brother  was  born  to  him,  who  was  to  be  the  future 
Duke  of  Clarence.^ 

About  this  time  a  group  of  nobles,  among  whom 
was  Henry  of  Bolingbroke,  rose  successfully  under 
the  leadership  of  Richard  II's  uncle,  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester,  against  the  king  and  his  favourites  ;  and 
for  a  year  and  a  half  (1388-9)  the  crown  was  practi- 
cally put  in  commission.  But  Richard,  who  with 
many  faults  was  yet  one  of  the  most  generous  and 
lovable  of  English  kings,  never  bore  any  grudge  at 
least  against  the  younger  generation  ;  and  so  Henry 
of  Monmouth,  the  brilliant  young  heir  of  the  great 
Lancastrian  house,  was,  amid  all  the  vicissitudes  of 
his  father,  brought  up  under  the  immediate  care  and 
patronage  of  the  crown.  But  he  was  never  thought 
likely  to  be  king  ;  Richard,  though  childless,  was 
still  a  young  man  (he  was  only  thirty -three  at  his 
death),  and,  in  any  case,  the  prolific  Earls  of  March 
were  nearer  to  the  succession. 

Up  to  the  year  1399  the  elder  Henry  led  rather  a 
roving  and  adventurous  life.  Twice  (1390  and  1392) 
he  went  on  "  Crusade,"  to  Dantzig  and  Konigsberg, 
and  he  visited  Venice,  Rhodes,  Cyprus  and  Jerusalem. 
His  wife,  Mary  de  Bohun,  died  in  1394,  and  was 
buried  in  the  "  King's  College  "  at  Leicester.  So  the 
home-life  of  the  young  Henry  was  interrupted; 
and  the  care  of  him  seems  to  have  been  under- 
taken by  king  Richard,  and  by  his  own  uncle  (Henry 
of    Bolingbroke's     half-brother),     Henry     Beaufort, 

1  Tyler,  op.  cit.,  I,  10-13. 


6  HEXRY  V  [1557^9 

afterward>  Bishop  of  Winchester,  a  sagacious  and 
magnificent  ecclesiastic.  But  though  brought  within 
the  circle  of  the  court.  Henry  ^vas  too  young  to 
be  misled  by  its  temptations,  too  remote  in  the  line  of 
succession  to  be  spoiled  by  flatten'  and  attention. 
His  education  was  that  of  a  young  nobleman,  who 
was  heir  to  great  responsibihties.  and  he  grew  up  as 
an  EngHsh  gentleman.  di\iding  his  time  between 
religious  exercises,  field  sports  and  studies.  Until 
the  Reformation,  bishops'  houses  were  the  schools  of 
young  noblemen  in  Western  Europe,  and  were  each 
in  their  degree  famous  for  the  education  they  gave  in 
devotion,  in  mental  culture,  and  in  manners.  Young 
Henry  gave  himself,  says  the  "  Rliymed  Verses,"  to 
the  exercises  of  falconrv.  fishing,  ridins  and  walking, 
and  to  the  learned  councils  of  his  elders.^  The 
tradition  of  his  skill  in  athletic  exercises  has  re- 
mained current  ever  since.  The  medieval  theory  of 
a  properly  balanced  education  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
entry  among  the  accounts  of  the  Duke  of  Lancaster 
of  8d.  for  harp-strings,  12d.  for  a  new  scabbard,  and 
4d.  for  seven  books  of  grammar,  contained  m  one 
volume,  for  the  young  Lord  Henry.-  This  was  when 
he  was  nine  years  old.  His  health,  however,  was  stUl 
unsettled.  One  sudden  and  severe  illness  had 
occurred  m  1395  when  he  was  staying  at  Leices- 
ter, and  a  physician  from  London  had  to  be 
specially    brought    on    a    horse,   hired    for  the   pur- 

-  Cole,  Memorials  of  Henry  V  (Rolls  Series),  p.  6. 
*  Tyler,  op.  cit.,  I,  1.5-16. 


139^1411]  EARLY  YEARS  7 

pose,    on    18    March,    at    a   fee    including   expenses 
of  6s.  8d.i 

The  banishment  of  his  father  on  a  charge  of  con- 
spiracy against  Richard  II  in  September.  1398,  seems 
to  have  made  no  difference  to  the  position  and 
prospects  of  the  yomig  Henry.  His  aged  grandfather, 
John  of  Gamit.  was  still  alive,  and  the  right  of  his 
father  and  ultimately  of  himself  to  succeed  to  the  Lan- 
castrian estates  was  unquestioned.  Richard  II  con- 
tinued his  patronage  of  Henry,  who  is  said  at  this  time 
to  have  been  in  residence  at  Queen's  Hall  (now  Queen's 
College)  in  Oxford,  his  uncle,  Henry  Beaufort,  in 
1398,  being  Chancellor  of  the  Cniversity.  His  rooms 
are  said  to  have  been  in  the  gable  (now  destroyed) 
over  the  old  gate  of  the  college  in  Queen's  Lane. 
Although  there  is  no  record  of  it  in  the  college 
archives,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  he  actually  did 
reside  there.  Queen's  was  associated  with  the  name 
of  Henry's  great -grandmother.  Queen  Philippa,  wife 
of  Edward  III,  and  it  was  later  imder  the  patronage 
of  Henry  IV.  -  Henry  Beaufort  was  himself  a  member 
of  it.  In  the  year  1411,  after  a  period  of  friction 
between  himself  and  his  father,  the  prince  disguised 
himself  quaintly,  and  appeared  before  the  king, 
carrying  needles.^  These  may  have  been  reminiscent 
of  yoimg  Henry's  connection  with  Queen's  College,* 

'-  Ibid..  15. 

•  Rymer,  Foed^ra,  \TTT,  675. 

»  First  English  Life  of  King  Henry  V  (ed.  C.  L.  Kingsford).  11-13  ; 
Holinshed,  Chronicles,  539  ;    Stowe,  Atinal-s,  339 

*  See  Intro,  to  First  English  Life. 


8  HENRY  V  [1411-21 

where  scholars  were  annually  presented  with  a 
threaded  needle,  the  sign  of  industry  and  thrift. 
Young  Henry  always  showed  the  greatest  interest  in 
Oxford  ;  in  the  same  year,  1411,  he  mediated  between 
the  king  and  the  University,  in  a  dispute  that  had 
arisen  about  the  "  constitutions  "  or  statutes  drawn 
up  for  the  University  by  Archbishop  Arundel.^  In 
1421,  as  king,  he  issued  a  most  important  ordinance, 
providing  that  all  matriculated  students  must  reside 
in  regular  colleges  or  halls. ^  In  1418  he  gave  per- 
mission to  the  Warden  and  Fellows  of  Merton  College 
to  erect  a  crenellated  or  "  embattled  "  tower  above 
their  gateway  ;^  to  fortify  any  building  required,  of 
course,  a  royal  licence  ;  and  if  Henry  had  lived  in 
the  old  gable  above  Queen's  gateway,  he  may  have 
felt  a  special  interest  in  the  request  of  the  Warden 
and  Fellows  of  Merton.  As,  however,  Henry  can  only 
have  been  eleven  years  old  when  he  resided  at  Oxford, 
and  as  his  residence  was  not  probably  more  than  six 
months,  this  episode  in  his  life  cannot  be  considered 
very  important. 

It  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  Richard  II  that  he 
took  so  much  interest  in  young  Henry,  even  after 
the  father  had  been  exiled.  The  king  often  said  that 
in  young  Henry  would  be  revived  the  fame  and 
knightly  prowess  of  the  royal  house.*    He  gave  the 

*  Munimenta  Academica  (Rolls  Series),  I,  251. 

*  Ibid.,  277-9. 

^  Brodrick,  Mema.  of  Merton  College,  311,  dated  4  April  from 
Bayeux. 

*  First  English  Life,  1. 


I39S-9]  EARLY  YEARS  9 

prince  a  yearly  income  of  £500,  a  sufficiently  large 
sum  as  the  value  of  money  then  stood.  Young 
Henry  accompanied  Richard  in  the  expedition  to 
Ireland,^  which  was  indirectly  productive  of  such 
great  results.  It  is  possible  that  in  taking  Henry  to 
Ireland,  Richard  was  actuated  by  the  desire  of 
keeping  near  to  his  person  so  valuable  a  hostage  for 
Bolingbroke's  good  behaviour. 

King  Richard  had  always  taken  a  special  interest 
in  Ireland,  and  is  perhaps  the  only  old  English  king 
who  ever  became  really  popular  there.  In  1395,  he 
had  already  made  one  successful  sojourn  there,  and 
done  much  to  reorganise  the  English  dominion.  In 
May,  1399,  he  undertook  a  second  great  expedition. 
It  was  Richard's  policy  to  move  in  a  magnificent  way, 
with  splendid  forces  and  all  the  array  of  kingship,  so 
that  the  rough  Irish  should  be  won  over  by  the  attrac- 
tions of  English  life.  So  on  this  expedition  he  took 
among  other  great  nobles,  the  young  Henry,  "  a  fair 
young  handsome  bachelor,"  ^  whose  delicate  features, 
large  nose,  high  cheek-bones,^  combined  with  his 
natural  vivacity  to  make  him  an  ornament  to  any 
court.  In  Ireland  Henry,  aged  just  under  twelve  years, 
received  the  dignity  of  knighthood  at  the  hands  of  king 
Richard,*  with  the  words  "  My  fair  cousin,  henceforth 
be  gallant  and  bold,  for  unless  you  conquer,  you  will 
have  little  name  for  valour." 

1  First  English  Life,  1. 

^  Creton,  Histoire  du  Roy  Richard,  quoted  in  Tyler,  op.  cit.,  I,  40. 
*  See  portraits  in  Queen's  Coil.   Common-Room  and  National 
Portrait  Gallery,  London.  *  Creton,  loc.  cit. 


10  HENRY  V  [1399 

Meanwhile,  the  prince's  father,  Henry  of  Boling- 
broke,  was  an  exile  living  in  Paris,  where  he  had 
many  powerful  friends,  the  Duke  of  Berri  and  the 
Duke  of  Orleans.  His  father,  the  aged  John  of  Gaunt, 
Duke  of  Lancaster,  had  died  on  3  February,  1399, 
and  Richard  had  revoked  the  patents  which  he  had 
previously  granted  to  enable  Henry,  though  in  exile, 
to  succeed  to  the  Lancastrian  estates.  Henry  had 
the  gift  of  silence,  and  seemed  to  acquiesce  in  his 
fate  ;  so  Richard  with  a  light  mind  had  gone  on  the 
Irish  expedition  in  May.  Henry's  movements  were 
so  quiet  that  even  Froissart  did  not  know  how  he 
came  to  England  ;  but  by  the  middle  of  July  he  was 
in  England,  having  crossed  from  Boulogne  to  Raven- 
spur,  where  all  Yorkshire  rose  to  meet  him.  This 
news  brought  Richard  back  from  Ireland  early  in 
August,  but  too  late  to  avert  the  revolution  which 
placed  Henry  of  Bolingbroke  on  the  throne. 

Before  leaving  Ireland,  Richard  had  summoned 
the  young  Henry,  and  reproached  him  with  the 
treason  of  his  father.  But  the  youth  met  the  king's 
suspicions  frankly,  being  no  doubt  as  ignorant  of 
Bolingbroke's  movements  as  Richard  was.  He  was 
then  deposited  with  the  young  Duke  of  Gloucester 
(son  of  Richard's  uncle  who  was  murdered  at  Calais) 
in  the  castle  of  Trim  in  the  county  of  Meath.^  If 
Richard  could  not  capture  the  eagle,  he  could  at  least 
hold  the  eagle's  brood  in  a  fastness  of  far-off  Ireland. 

But  as  Bolingbroke  came  southwards,  from  York- 

*  Adam  de  Usk,  Ghronicon,  298. 


I399-I40I]  EARLY  YEARS  11 

shire,  his  following  grew.  When  he  reached  Bristol, 
he  is  said  to  have  been  followed  by  100,000  men. 
Richard  landed  in  Wales,  and  found  himself  a  king 
without  a  kingdom.  On  19  August,  the  crowned 
king  and  the  uncrowned  met  at  Flint.  On  2  Septem- 
ber they  arrived  in  London. 

Bolingbroke's  command  was  now  obeyed  even  in 
Ireland  ;  for  when  he  sent  to  Trim  for  the  delivery 
of  his  son  with  the  other  young  lord  there,  no  difficulty 
seems  to  have  been  found.  Young  Henry  joined  his 
father  in  London  about  the  end  of  September.  The 
royal  accounts  contain  an  entry  of  payment  (not, 
however,  till  1401)  to  a  certain  Henry  Dryhurst  of 
West  Chester  for  the  freightage  of  a  ship  to  Dublin, 
for  sailing  there  and  back  again,  to  conduct  the  lord 
the  prince,  the  king's  son,  from  Ireland  to  England.^ 
Henry  came  safe,  but  the  young  Duke  of  Gloucester 
succumbed  to  a  fever  apparently  on  board  the  ship 
itself. 

On  29  September,  Richard  resigned  the  crown  he 
could  no  longer  wear  ;  and  on  the  30th  parliament 
in  Westminster  Hall  (which  had  been  duly  sum- 
moned in  Richard's  name)  elected  Henry  to  the 
throne  which  stood  in  the  Hall  conspicuously  empty. 
Richard  did  not  long  survive  his  fall.  He  died  in 
Pontefract  Castle  in  Yorkshire  on  14  February,  1400. 

1  Tyler,  op.  cit.,  I,  48. 


CHAPTER    II 

WALES 

Young  Henry  when  his  father  came  to  the  throne 
was  just  twelve  years  of  age.  But  such  educa- 
tion as  he  had  was  ahnost  finished  :  and  he 
was  soon  plunged  into  the  hard  career  of  administra- 
tion and  war  from  which  he  had  no  rest  till  his  death. 
In  the  first  parliament  of  Henry  IV,  on  15  October, 
1399,  it  was  announced  through  the  chancellor, 
Archbishop  Arundel,  that  the  king  would  create  his 
eldest  son  prince  of  Wales  and  also  Duke  of  Cornwall 
and  Earl  of  Chester.  The  investiture  of  the  prince 
with  these  dignities  took  place  nearly  a  month  later, 
8  November,^  in  London.  Christmas  was  spent  at 
Windsor  in  the  royal  castle.  The  king  was  overtired 
after  the  excitement  and  exertions  of  the  accession  ; 
but  the  family  party — king  and  four  young 
sons — ^was  rudely  disturbed  by  the  news  of  the  con- 
spiracy of  the  Earl  of  Rutland  and  some  other  mag- 
nates in  favour  of  king  Richard,  who  had  not  yet  met 
his  end.  On  4  January,  1400,  the  whole  family  went 
hastily  by  horse  to  London ;  then,  the  capital  being 
secured,  the  king  energetically  saw  to  the  crushing  of 

1  Rymer,  Foedera,  VIII,  US. 
12 


1399]  WALES  13 

the  conspiracy  and  rebellion  of  the  earls  :  it  was  after 
this  that  Richard  died,  by  violence,  or  starvation, 
which  was  perhaps  self-imposed. 

It  was  in  the  same  year  that  the  Welsh  trouble 
arose,  and  brought  young  Henry  to  the  principality, 
which  was  to  prove  such  a  fruitful  school  of  govern- 
ment and  war  to  him.^  He  did  not,  indeed,  begin 
the  work  of  administration  at  the  age  of  thirteen  ; 
he  learnt  under  the  tuition  of  experienced  noblemen  ; 
and  he  quickly  grew  to  take  up  a  man's  work. 

Wales  at  this  time  was  a  principality  by  itself, 
under  the  prince,  who  was  its  sovereign,  assisted  by 
his  council.  This  was  the  constitution  that  had  been 
assigned  to  it  by  Edward  I  in  1284  and  in  1301.  ^ 
There  were  no  representative  institutions  :  there  was 
no  parliament  in  Wales,  nor  were  members  from  the 
principality  summoned  to  the  English  parliament 
till  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  The  frontier  between 
England  and  Wales  followed  a  line  which  ran  from 
the  strong  town  of  Chester  through  a  series  of  fortresses 
— Shrewsbury,  Montgomery,  Clun,  Ludlow,  Hereford, 
Monmouth,  to  Newport  and  the  estuary  of  the 
Severn  River.  ^  The  rough,  mountainous  character 
of  this  frontier  made  the  social  separation  of  England 
and  Wales  permanent.  The  country  thus  marked  off 
by  nature  from  England  had  undergone  a  peculiar 

*  The  young  prince  is  said  to  have  been  taken  by  his  father  on 
the  short  expedition  to  Scotland,  in  the  summer  of  1400.  Monstrelet, 
La  Chronique,  XXXV  ;   Livius,  Vita  Henrici  Quinti,  3. 

*  Tout,  Edward  I  ("English   Statesmen  Series"),  113-15,  118. 
^  See  map  in  Tout.  Pol.  Hist,  of  England,  III. 


14  HENRY  V  [1399 

development  of  its  own.  The  bulk  of  it  was  in  the 
hands  of  great  Anglo-Norman  lords,  who  ruled  an 
alien  population  with  all  the  strength  of  feudalism. 
The  heads  of  these  lordships  were  known  as  the 
Lords  Marcher,  and  their  combined  districts  were 
called  the  Welsh  March.  From  their  great  castles, 
built  with  the  king's  licence,  each  lord  held  military 
and  judicial  power  in  his  lordship  ;  each  levied 
customary  dues  and  taxes,  and  acted  as  a  petty 
prince  or  king,  subject  only  to  the  king  of  England 
and  the  prince  of  Wales.  Towards  the  prince  their 
only  obligations  seem  to  have  been  the  payment  of 
the  feudal  incidents,  "  aids,"  "  reliefs,"  "  ward- 
ships," "  marriage  "  and  the  like. 

The  rest  of  Wales,  the  five  counties  Flint,  Carnarvon, 
Monmouth,  Cardigan  and  Carmarthen,  with  the  island 
of  Anglesea,  was  the  only  part  where  the  prince  had 
complete  power,  where  the  common  and  statute  law 
of  England  prevailed,  where  the  prince  appointed  all 
officials,  and  where  the  four  justices  specially  ap- 
pointed for  Wales  held  their  circuits.  Here  the  entire 
population  was  Welsh  ;  and  the  only  evidences  of 
English  occupation  were  the  garrisons  in  castles  such 
as  Flint,  Conway,  Carnarvon,  Harlech  and  Aberyst- 
wyth. 

The  great  Welsh  rebellion  which  was  to  be  the  real 
school  of  young  Henry  arose,  not  in  the  counties 
of  the  native  Welsh,  but  in  lands  of  the  Lords 
Marcher.  It  was  in  order  that  they  should  keep  the 
Welsh  border  quiet  that  the  Lords  Marcher  had  been 


1399]  WALES  15 

given  their  great  privileges  and  their  independent 
position.  But  such  a  poHcy  has  in  every  country 
ultimately  brought  Nemesis  upon  it.  In  Germany 
the  frontier  lords,  the  Margraves,  became  independent 
princes  and  destroyed  the  authority  of  the  empire. 
So  too  on  the  Welsh  March,  in  England,  the  in- 
dependent lordships  bred  dissension  and  civil  war, 
and  helped  to  destroy  the  authority  of  the  crown 
which  they  were  meant  to  support.  At  a  later  time 
in  the  Welsh  March  lay  the  great  strength  of  the 
Yorkist  house — ^the  family  which  brought  to  a  bloody 
close  the  dynasty  of  Henry  IV.  And  now  in  the  early 
days  of  the  same  king,  tumults  arose  in  the  Marcher 
country,  and  for  years  almost  destroyed  royal 
authority  there,  and  defied  all  the  resources  of  the 
crown. 

The  rebellion  of  Owen  Glendower  is  always  asso- 
ciated with  the  national  aspirations  of  Wales.  And 
it  is  true  that  at  the  height  of  his  power  Owen  styled 
himself  prince  of  Wales,  and  acted  as  a  national 
sovereign.  He  corresponded  with  the  kings  of  France 
and  Scotland ;  he  planned  a  great  political  and 
educational  reorganisation  of  Wales  ;  and  in  him 
seemed  to  be  renewed  all  the  old  glories  of  the  Cymric 
race,  all  their  poetry,  and  all  their  martial  vigour. 

But  when  Owen  first  took  up  arms  on  the  Welsh 
border,  he  had  arrived  at  no  such  position.  He  was 
simply  a  rich  landed  gentleman,  who  had  an  unfor- 
tunate quarrel  with  one  of  his  neighbours.  In  other 
times,  such  quarrels  had  either  been  settled  locally, 


16  HENRY  V  [1399 

or  quelled  by  the  forces  of  the  crown.  But  the 
government  of  Henry  IV  had  few  resources  ;  its 
reputation  was  small  ;  and  thus  a  merely  local 
tumult  was  allowed  to  spread  till  it  became  a  national 
revolt. 

Owen  Glendower  was  a  landowner  of  Welsh  descent, 
who  lived  in  North  Wales,  in  the  valley  of  the  Dee. 
When  his  troubles  and  his  greatness  came  upon  him 
he  was  forty-one  years  old,  and  had  hitherto  lived 
the  life  of  a  typical  English  gentleman.  He  had  been 
originally  trained  in  law  vinder  one  of  the  lawyers  at 
the  courts  in  Westminster.  He  had  followed  Richard  II 
in  the  campaign  against  the  Scots  in  1385  ;  then, 
still  a  young  man,  he  had  been  in  the  service  of 
the  great  Earl  of  Arundel  as  an  esquire  ;  and  had 
gone  abroad  with  Henry  of  Lancaster,  sharing  the 
adventurous  life  of  that  monarch  before  he  became 
king.  After  Henry's  accession  Owen  might  have 
looked  forward  to  a  life  spent  on  his  estates,  with 
occasional  journeys  to  the  court  and  occasional 
attendance  in  the  king's  army. 

Unfortunately  he  had  a  lawsuit,  and  could 
get  no  satisfaction.  He  had  claims  to  a  piece 
of  land  of  which  his  neighbour.  Lord  Grey  of  Ruthin, 
was  then  in  possession.  In  the  rude  Marcher  land, 
each  lord  was  apt  to  be  a  law  unto  himself  ;  and 
Owen,  as  probably  others  of  his  neighbours  would 
have  done  in  like  case,  got  his  retainers  together, 
and  tried  to  force  Lord  Grey  to  give  up  the 
disputed  land.     A  good  deal  of  blood  seems  to  have 


I400]  WALES  17 

been  shed  in  the  frays  that  ensued.  When  Henry  IV, 
in  the  summer  of  1400,  made  war  against  the  Scots, 
Owen  had  been  summoned  to  perform  his  feudal 
duties  by  joining  the  king's  army.  But  the  king  is 
said  to  have  sent  the  summons,  very  unwisely, 
through  Lord  Grey  of  Ruthin,  who,  as  a  privy  coun- 
cillor, may  have  been  considered  as  a  special  repre- 
sentative of  the  king  in  these  parts.  Lord  Grey 
apparently  did  not  pass  on  the  summons  in  good 
time  to  Owen,  who  thus  failed  to  attend  in  the  king's 
Scottish  expedition.  Thus  Owen's  private  war  with 
Lord  Grey  seemed  to  have  a  new  significance  of  rebel- 
lion against  the  king.  When,  therefore,  in  the  middle 
of  September,  1400,  Henry  IV  came  in  person  with  a 
small  army  to  quell  the  disturbances,  he  found  a  real 
rebellion  in  progress,  a  desperate  man  to  deal 
with,  and  the  whole  Welsh  people,  fired  by  Owen's 
example,  rising  against  him.  The  king  brought 
with  him  on  this  expedition  young  Henry,  just 
thirteen  years  of  age.  Within  one  month,  king 
Henry  marched  through  the  centre  of  disaffection 
to  the  Menai  Straits,  and  then  returned  to  London. 
Owen's  estates  were  declared  confiscated,  and  it 
was  hoped  the  matter  was  at  an  end.  Young  Henry 
remained  at  Chester,  to  supervise  the  country,  with 
his  council,  in  which  Lord  Henry  Percy,  "  Hotspur," 
was  the  chief  figure.^ 

The  weakness  of  the  Lancastrian  government  is 
clearly  seen  from  the  fact  that  the  rebellion  of  Owen, 

^  Proceedings  and  Ordinances  of  the  Privy  Council,  I,  146,  note  1. 
c 


18  HENRY  V  [1400 

which  was  originally,  at  any  rate,  a  purely  local 
affair,  was  allowed  to  spread  throughout  all  Wales, 
and  to  endure  for  nine  years.  Henry  IV,  although 
a  prince  of  the  blood,  was  only  a  parvenu  king.  He 
owed  his  crown  to  the  support  of  a  few  great  lords, 
like  the  Percies  ;  to  the  favour  of  the  orthodox 
Churchmen,  like  Archbishop  Arundel ;  and  to  the 
choice  of  the  commons  in  parliament.  But  the  Percies 
soon  turned  against  him,  and  augmented  his  diffi- 
culties ;  and  the  older  nobility,  as  a  whole,  stood 
aloof  from  him.  The  commons  in  parliament,  it  is 
true,  though  often  complaining  of  the  king's  lack  of 
governance,  stood  firmly  by  him  ;  yet  their  financial 
votes  were  ridiculously  small.  And  so  the  reign  of 
Henry  IV,  a  hard-working  and  respectable  king,  is 
nevertheless  one  of  weakness  and  of  a  certain  amount 
of  confusion.  Inside  the  realm,  there  were  com- 
plaints at  the  time  that  parliamentary  elections  were 
not  properly  or  fairly  held,  and  that  juries  were  not 
being  fairly  empanelled  ;  the  local  administration 
was  evidently  weak.  On  the  outposts  of  the  kingdom, 
the  condition  of  things  was  no  better.  The  Narrow 
Seas  were  not  guarded,  and  French  sailors  and 
soldiers  not  merely  attacked  the  southern  coast 
towns,  but  even  maintained  themselves  with  im- 
punity for  as  much  as  a  fortnight  at  a  time  in  England 
itself.  In  the  north,  the  monotonous  series  of  raids 
and  counter-raids  continued,  though  it  is  only  fair  to 
say,  that  the  reign  previous  to  that  of  Henry  IV  had 
witnessed  the    same  regular  occurrences.     On  the 


1400-8]  WALES  19 

Welsh  March,  conditions  were  even  worse,  for  open 
war  raged  until  the  year  1408,  and  did  not  entirely 
die  out  even  then. 

The  prince  of  Wales,  whose  duty  it  was  to  suppress 
the  Welsh  difficulty,  was  only  a  boy  when  the  war 
began.  It  is  clear,  then,  that  the  early  failures  and 
inefficiency  of  the  Lancastrian  government  in  Wales 
cannot  be  imputed  to  him.  It  was  not  till  1406  that 
things  began  to  mend. 

For  the  better  turn  of  affairs  after  1406  there  are 
several  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  the  efforts  of  the 
hard-working  king,  his  continual  attention  to  business, 
began  to  show  effect.  In  the  second  place,  pressure 
on  the  northern  border  was  greatly  relieved  by  the 
lucky  capture  of  the  Scottish  prince  James,  at  sea, 
on  his  way  to  France.  This  capture  gave  Henry  IV 
a  valuable  hostage,  who  in  this  same  year,  1406, 
although  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower,  had  become  by  the 
death  of  Robert  III,  king  of  Scotland.  Thirdly, 
the  recurrent  madness  of  the  French  king,  Charles 
VI,  and  the  internecine  struggle  between  the  factions 
of  Orleans  and  Burgundy  which  took  place  after  the 
murder  of  the  old  Duke  of  Orleans  in  1407, 
set  Henry  free  from  all  danger  on  the  part  of  France. 
All  these  strokes  of  fortune  permitted  the  Lancastrian 
government  to  concentrate  its  attention  on  the 
difficulty  of  Wales.  Yet  all  these  things  by  them- 
selves might  not  have  sufficed  without  the  growing 
manhood  of  the  prince  of  Wales.  By  the  year  1406 
the  prince,  now  nineteen  years  of  age,  was  able  to 


20  HENRY  V  [1403 

take  full  control  of  the  affairs  of  his  principality.  On 
3  April,  parliament  petitioned  the  king  that  the 
prince  might  stay  on  the  Welsh  March  continuously. 
The  complaisant  king  acceded  to  the  petition,  and 
confirmed  the  prince's  complete  powers  on  5  April. 
Within  two  years  the  Welsh  troubles  were  practically 
at  an  end. 

The  war  in  Wales  should  be  considered  from  four 
points  of  view  :  firstly,  the  guerilla  warfare,  a  method 
for  which  the  physical  conformation  of  the  country 
and  the  condition  of  the  Welsh  people  were  peculiarly 
suited.  Secondly,  there  were  innumerable  small 
sieges  and  blockades.  Tiny  English  garrisons  were 
holding  out  in  isolated  castles  ;  sometimes  castles 
were  lost  and  had  to  be  rewon  after  a  tedious  blockade. 
Thirdly,  there  were  some  pitched  battles  ;  it  was 
Owen's  greatest  boast  after  his  successes  in  the  first 
half  of  1403  that  he  would  meet  the  English  in  the 
open  field.  Here,  however,  the  English  were  naturally 
superior.  Fourthly,  the  war  should  be  studied  in 
relation  to  its  external  ramifications — ^the  revolts  of 
the  Percies,  and  the  naval  assistance  of  the  king  of 
France.  The  weak  point  of  the  English  scheme  of 
operations  was  that  it  comprised  no  scheme  of  war 
by  sea.  St.  George's  Channel  was  left  open  to  French 
assistance,  and  the  English  campaigns  were  conducted 
almost  entirely  by  land. 

The  facts  of  the  war,  when  briefly  stated,  explain 
themselves. 


I401]  WALES  21 

It  was  some  time  before  the  rising  of  Owen 
Glendower  became  general.  At  first  it  was  a  personal 
and  local  affair.  But  on  21  February,  1401,  the  com- 
mons told  Henry  IV  that  they  now  feared  a  general 
rising  of  Wales.  The  Welsh  in  England  evidently 
looked  forward  to  this,  as  those  studying  at  the 
Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  were  leaving 
for  their  native  country  ;  and  so,  too,  with  Welsh 
labourers,  of  whom  a  good  number  seem  to  have 
been  employed  in  the  various  parts  of  England.^ 
Henry,  prince  of  Wales,  had  nominal  command 
on  the  March,  but  the  real  work  fell  to  Hotspur, 
Henry  Percy,  son  of  the  Earl  of  Northumberland. 
The  king  made  two  expeditions,  but  proceeded 
no  further  than  Worcester.  The  prince  on  5  July, 
or  shortly  before,  recovered  Conway  Castle,  which 
had  been  captured  by  the  Welsh  three  months  before 
(1  April).  The  siege  was  really  carried  out  by  Percy. 
Henry  also  made  a  successful  march  through 
the  Dee  Valley,  over  the  estates  of  Owen.  He 
describes  these  operations  in  a  letter  to  the  Privy 
Council  on  15  May  : 

We  took  our  forces  and  marched  to  a  place  of  the  said 
Owen,  well-built,  which  was  his  principal  mansion,  called 
Saghern,  where  we  thought  we  should  have  found  him  ; 
.  .  .  but  on  our  arrival  there,  we  found  nobody  ;  and 
therefore  caused  the  whole  place  to  be  burnt,  and  several 
houses  near  it,  belonging  to  his  tenants.  We  thence 
marched  straight  to  his  other  place  of  Glyndowrdy,  to 
seek  for  him  there,  and  we  caused  a  fine  lodge  in  his  park 
1  Rolls  oj  Pad.,  Hi,  157. 


22  HENRY  V  [1401-2 

to  be  destroyed  by  fire,  and  laid  waste  all  the  country 
around.  We  there  halted  all  night,  and  certain  of  our 
people  sallied  forth  into  the  country,  and  took  a  gentle- 
man of  the  neighbourhood,  who  was  one  of  the  said 
Owen's  chieftains.  This  person  offered  £500  for  his 
ransom,  to  preserve  his  life,  and  to  be  allowed  two  weeks 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  that  sum  of  money.  But  the 
offer  was  not  accepted,  and  he  received  death,  as  did 
several  of  his  companions  who  were  taken  the  same  day. 
We  then  proceeded  to  the  Commote  of  Edeyrnion  in 
Merionethsliire,  and  there  laid  waste  a  fine  and  populous 
country.  Thence  we  went  to  Powys,  and  there  being  a 
want  of  provender  in  Wales  for  horses,  we  made  our 
people  carry  oats  with  them,  and  pursued  our  march.  ^ 

But  Owen  himself  was  not  enticed  into  the  open 
field.  His  masterly  guerilla  tactics  made  it  exceed- 
ingly difficult  for  isolated  garrisons  to  maintain 
themselves.  Harlech  was  now  actually  besieged  by 
him.  In  October  the  hard-working  king  himself  had 
to  come  to  Wales,  to  lead  a  small  army  through  the 
north  of  the  principality  to  Anglesea,  strengthening 
all  the  garrisons  of  the  neighbourhood.  Owen, 
however,  after  the  king  had  gone  back  to  London, 
did  very  well  through  the  winter,  and  added  greatly 
to  his  forces.  Scottish  ships  on  the  Welsh  coast 
kept  him  in  touch  with  the  outside  world.  ^ 

Next  year  (1402)  Owen  did  even  better.  On 
30  January,  he  met  his  personal  enemy.  Lord  Grey 

*  Ellis,  Original  Letters  (Second  Series),  I,  10-13  (from  the 
French)  ;  Proc.  of  Privy  Council,  II,  61.  (The  editor  refers  this 
letter  to  the  next  year,  1402.) 

*  Proceedings  of  Privy  Council,  I,  153. 


1402]  WALES  23 

of  Ruthin,  and  defeated  the  Marcher  force,  and  a 
month  later  was  more  successful  still,  actually  taking 
Grey  prisoner.  It  cost  Lord  Grey  about  £7000  to 
regain  his  freedom.^  Meanwhile  another  Marcher 
lord,  Sir  Edmund  Mortimer,  of  the  great  family  of 
the  Earls  of  March,  was  defeated  and  captured  in 
Radnorshire.  ^ 

The  weakness  of  the  English  government  is  ap- 
parent. Much  of  the  fighting  had  to  be  left  to  the 
Marcher  lords  with  their  local  forces.  Now  the 
family  of  Mortimer,  owning  great  estates  round 
Ludlow,  was  of  doubtful  loyalty.  Their  head,  the  Earl 
of  March,  had  been  declared  heir  to  the  crown  by 
Richard  II.  In  later  years,  through  a  momentous 
marriage,  they  became  known  as  the  house  of  York, 
and  dethroned  the  Lancastrian  dynasty. 

It  had  been  remarked  that  in  the  early  stages  of 
the  rising,  the  estates  of  Sir  Edmund  had  never  been 
harried  by  the  rebels.  And  now  that  he  was  captured, 
voices  were  raised  to  say  that  he  had  not  altogether 
unwittingly  led  his  small  forces  to  defeat.  Anyhow 
he  soon  became  reconciled  to  Owen,  and  married  a 
daughter  of  the  chief.  ^  The  king  forbade  any  ransom 
to  be  sent  for  Mortimer  on  the  ground  that  money 
must  not  go  to  the  Welsh  rebels.  Accordingly,  on 
13  December,  Mortimer  wrote  to  his  tenants  that  he 
now   renounced   Henry,   and   was   joining   Owen   to 

^  Holinbhed,  op.  cit.,  519  ;   noils  of  Fail.,  Ill,  487. 
^  Walsingham,  Hisioria  Angiicmia,  II,  250. 
^  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  253-4. 


24  HENRY  V  [1402-3 

proclaim   Richard   II,    or   failing   him,   the   Earl   of 
March.  ^ 

In  August,  the  king  had  come  to  Wales.  He 
divided  his  forces  into  three  independent  units, 
keeping  one  to  himself,  giving  another  to  the  Earl  of 
Arundel,  and  the  third  to  prince  Henry.  None  of 
these  forces  succeeded  in  meeting  the  enemy.  For 
the  weather  had  broken  and  storms  of  rain,  hail  and 
even  snow  frustrated  all  the  efforts  of  the  army. 
These  storms  were  believed  to  be  due  to  Owen's 
magic  and  diabolical  arts.^ 

The  campaign  lasted  less  than  six  weeks.  Mean- 
while the  Scots,  acting  on  an  understanding  with 
Owen,  had  invaded  the  north  of  England,  but  had 
suffered  a  severe  defeat,  mainly  due  to  the  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  at  Homildon  Hill,  near  the  river 
Till,  on  14  September. 

The  year  1403  brought  the  greatest  crisis 
of  the  reign  of  Henry  IV,  when  Owen,  Mortimer, 
and  even  the  Percies,  the  kingmakers,  joined  in 
arms  against  the  Lancastrian  house. 

The  reasons  for  the  rebellion  of  the  Percies  are 
difficult  to  see.  To  them  had  been  largely  due 
Henry's  accession  to  the  throne  ;  and  in  return  both 
father  and  son  had  been  loaded  with  honours  and 
offices.  But  their  duties  entailed  heavy  expenses  ; 
and  payment  from  the  central  government  was  always 
in  arrear.    The  representatives  of  English  power  on 

*  Ellis,  Original  Letters  (Second  Series),  24-6. 

*  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  250-1. 


1403]  WALES  26 

the  frontiers  were  in  much  the  same  position  as  com- 
manders of  the  outlying  posts  of  the  modern  Turkish 
empire.  They  had  to  maintain  their  forces  for  months 
Avithout  remittances  from  the  central  government, 
and  when  remittances  came,  they  were  speedily 
absorbed  in  paying  old  debts.  Yet  the  Percies  had 
fared  better  than  most,  in  the  matter  of  payment. 
It  has  been  calculated  that  between  1399  and  1403 
they  received  from  Henry  IV  sums  amounting  to 
£41,750.1  Even  the  prince  of  Wales  had  not  been 
treated  like  this,  and  had  to  pawn  his  jewels  in  order 
to  pay  his  forces.  ^ 

The  Earl  of  Northumberland  was  Constable  of 
England,  and  his  son,  Hotspur,  besides  being  Justiciar 
of  North  Wales  and  Constable  of  the  castles  of  Chester, 
Flint,  Conway,  Carnarvon,  was  also  Warden  of  the 
East  March  on  the  Scottish  Border.  In  this  latter 
capacity,  he  had  taken  a  great  part  in  the  victory  of 
Homildon  Hill,  and  had  captured  the  Scottish  Earl 
of  Douglas.  The  king  ordered  that  the  Scottish 
prisoners  should  be  sent  to  London.  But  Hotspur 
refused  ;  noble  prisoners  were  much  too  valuable  an 
asset  to  be  parted  with  lightly  in  those  days.  And  as 
the  Scots  were  still  threatening,  the  Percies  kept 
their  great  forces  still  in  the  field.  The  king  did  not 
like  the  look  of  things,  and  on  10  July  ordered 
Hotspur  back  to  his  post  in  Wales. ^     But  by  this 

^  Ramsay,  Lancaster  and  York,  I,  57.  But  see  Proc.  of  Privy 
Council,  I,  152,  for  the  personal  expenditure  which  Henry  Percy 
had  to  bear. 

«  Proc.  of  Privy  Council,  II,  62-3.  ^  Ibid.,  1,  206. 


26  HENRY  V  [1403 

time  the  Percies  were  already  on  the  march.  On  the 
9th,  Hotspur  in  full  force  entered  the  Earldom  of 
Chester,  where  the  influence  of  Richard  II  had  been 
so  strong  ;  and  the  three  great  Percies,  the  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  his  brother  the  Earl  of  Worcester, 
and  his  son,  Hotspur,  sent  a  formal  defiance  to 
"  Henry  of  Lancaster." 

From  Chester  the  Percy  army  marched  south- 
wards apparently  gathering  forces  as  it  went,  till  it 
reached  Shrewsbury  on  21  July.  Here  they  found 
themselves  forestalled  by  the  king,  who  had  passed 
quickly  through  the  Midlands  with  what  forces  he 
could  raise,  and  thrown  himself  into  Shrewsbury  on 
20  July,  after  having  accomplished  a  march  of  forty- 
five  miles  from  Lichfield  on  the  same  day.  He  had 
with  him  prince  Henry,  whose  governor,  Sir  Thomas 
Percy,  Earl  of  Worcester,  was  with  the  rebel  army 
outside  Shrewsbury.  From  this  time  the  prince  stands 
by  himself  without  a  guardian.  And  very  appro- 
priately he  signalised  this  enfranchisement  by  person- 
ally taking  part  in  the  battle  which  immediately  fol- 
lowed, by  leading  a  complete  division  of  the  army. 

The  battle  took  place  on  the  same  day  as  Hotspur 
appeared  outside  Shrewsbury,  21  July.  Various 
estimates  are  given  of  the  numbers  on  either  side, 
varying  from  40,000  to  80,000. 1  The  king's  forces 
seem  to  have  been  about  the  same  as  those  of  the 
enemy.     It  is  certain,  however,   that  the  numbers 

^  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  257  ;  Waurin,  Recueil  des  croniques 
et  anchiennes  istories  de  la  Grant  Bretaigne  (Translated  Rolls 
Series),  II,  60. 


i4»3]  WALES  27 

given  are  too  large,  and  it  is  unlikely,  if  one  considers 
the  dimensions  of  the  battle-field,  that  more  than 
5000  were  engaged  on  either  side.'^ 

On  the  rebels'  side  the  leaders  were  Hotspur  and 
his  uncle,  the  Earl  of  Worcester,  and  the  Scottish 
Earl  of  Douglas.  The  Earl  of  Northumberland  was 
still  in  the  north  of  England.  Many  Welshmen  are 
said  to  have  been  present,  but  not  Owen  Glendower. 

Hotspur  had  fallen  back  from  before  Shrewsbury 
along  the  north  road  till  he  came  to  a  low  hill  to  the 
west  of  the  road.  Here  he  took  up  his  position  on 
the  "  Hayteley  Field." '^  In  front  on  the  slope  of  the 
hill  was  a  field  of  peas  ;  and  just  in  front  of  this  a 
number  of  ponds.  Hotspur  had  the  advantage  of 
possessing  a  useful  force  of  archers  from  the  Earldom 
of  Chester,  which  formerly  had  supplied  Richard  II 
with  his  archer  bodyguard.  These  he  posted  in  front 
of  his  main  force,  to  shoot  down  the  gradual  slope. 
The  king  had  divided  his  forces  into  four  portions, 
giving  the  left  to  the  prince  and  taking  the  right 
himself. 

The  battle  began  with  the  archers  on  both  sides. 
In  this  method  of  fighting  the  rebels  proved  superior  ; 
and  the  prince  who  was  waiting  for  a  chance  to  get 
at  the  enemy  under  cover  of  his  archers  was  wounded 
by  an  arrow  in  the  face.  He  bore  his  wound,  how- 
ever,  with   the   utmost   constancy,   and   refused   to 

1  This  has  been  pointed  out  by  Sir  James  Ramsay,  op.  cit.,  I,  64  ; 
Holinshed,  op.  cit.,  523,  says  the  rebels  had  14,000  men. 

-  Adam  de  Usk,  op.  cit.,  252-3,  gives  B^iTwick,  a  village  two  miles 
from  Shrewsbury,  as  the  region  where  the  battle  was  fought. 


28  HENRY  V  [1403 

leave  the  field.*  Then  the  main  advance  com- 
menced ;  the  king  on  the  right  of  the  ponds,  the 
prince  on  the  left.  The  advance  was  completely 
successful.  The  prince  charged  on  horseback  with 
his  men-at-arms,  horse  and  foot,  up  the  slope  and 
shattered  the  enemy's  right,  which  fell  back  only  to 
be  met  by  the  king's  division,  which  was  successfully 
contending  against  the  enemy's  left.  It  is  not  known 
how  much  time  the  battle  occupied  ;  but  the  melee 
at  the  top  of  the  hill  on  the  Hayteley  Field  seems  to 
have  been  maintained  long  and  desperately.  At  last 
the  battle  was  completely  won — the  worst  battle 
"  since  the  conquest  of  Duke  William  "^  in  England 
— and  the  first,  as  it  might  be  called,  of  the  Wars  of 
the  Roses.  Among  the  killed  was  Hotspur.  Within 
a  fortnight  after  the  battle,  the  king  was  up  in  the 
north  of  England  seeing  to  what  remained  of  the 
rebellion  there. 

Shrewsbury  was  a  great  victory  for  the  king,  and 
a  great  honour  for  the  prince,  his  son.  But  its 
practical  results  were  very  little.  Owen's  cause  still 
stood  high.  He  was  about  this  time  busy  in  South 
Wales,  and  had  already  gained  a  notable  success  in 
the  capture  of  Carmarthen  (6  July)  ;  but  when  he 
tried  to  extend  his  power  over  Glamorganshire,  he 
received  a  severe  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Lord  Carew, 
the  English  commander  in  South  Wales. ^    But  Owen 

*  "  Elmham,"  Vita  etgesta  Henrici  V,  7-8. 

*  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  62. 

'  See  Ramsay,  op.  cit.,  I,  05,  note  4.  The  Welsh  had  been  helped 
by  a  French  oipediiion.    Adam  de  Usk,  op.  cit.,  255. 


1403-4]  WALES  29 

himself  escaped  with  a  good  part  of  his  men.  Although 
the  king  came  down  again  from  the  north  of  England 
with  an  army  to  Worcester  on  2  September,  his 
attempt  to  follow  up  the  victory  of  Shrewsbury  was 
very  partially  carried  out,  "  for  he  had  no  money 
to  conduct  the  expedition."^  However,  he  re- 
established the  English  garrisons  in  Carmarthen,  and 
then  turned  back  to  attend  to  the  other  affairs  of  his 
kingdom.  The  old  Earl  of  Northumberland  still 
troubled  the  realm  ;  he  could  not  at  present  openly 
maintain  a  war  with  the  king,  but  he  had  plenty  of 
sympathisers.  When  arraigned  for  his  rebellion 
before  the  house  of  Lords,  he  was  found  by  the  peers 
to  be  guilty  not  of  treason,  but  only  of  "  trespass."  ^ 
The  cause  of  Owen  continued  to  prosper  for 
one  more  year.  But  young  Henry,  the  prince,  was 
now  rapidly  maturing  ;  and  the  conduct  of  the  war 
which  till  now  had  been  carried  on  practically  only  in 
his  name,  was  taken  up  personally  by  him.  The 
prince  grew  up  as  a  keen,  active  soldier,  and  gradually 
he  wore  down  all  opposition.  But  success  was  attained 
only  by  years  of  patient  effort.  Throughout  1404 
some  of  the  great  castles  in  English  hands, 
Carnarvon,  Harlech,  Aberystwith,  Cardigan,  were 
blockaded  by  the  Welsh  and  their  French  auxiliaries, 
who  gave  assistance  from  their  ships  on  the 
sea.  Owen's  pretensions  seemed  likely  to  be 
fulfilled.      On    4    May,    he    issued    a    proclamation 

'  VValsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  259. 
*  Rolls  of  Pari.,  Ill,  525. 


80  HENRY  V  [1404-5 

to  summon  a  Welsh  parliament,  "  in  the  fourth  year 
of  our  principate."^  On  14  June,  a  treaty  was  signed 
at  Paris  between  his  representative  and  the  French 
Government,  for  mutual  alliance  and  common  war 
against  "  Henry  of  Lancaster."  Owen  even  began 
to  cross  the  Welsh  border,  and  make  raids  in  Hereford- 
shire ;  and  young  Henry  on  the  March  was  hard  put 
to  it  to  keep  him  in  check. ^ 

So  high  did  Owen's  fortunes  stand,  that  in  February, 
1405,  he  made  a  new  arrangement  with  Sir 
Edmund  Mortimer  who  Avas  still  with  him,  and  the 
Earl  of  Northumberland  who  was  still  free  and  at 
large  in  England.  According  to  this  famous  tri- 
partite convention,  the  English  realm  was  to  be 
divided  among  the  three,  Owen  getting  for  his  share 
all  Wales,  the  Earl  of  Northumberland  getting  the 
twelve  northern  counties,  and  Sir  Edmund  Mortimer 
all  the  rest. 

But  the  young  Henry,  now  aged  seventeen,  was 
still  at  his  post,  aided  by  able  lieutenants,  and  still 
taking  every  opportunity  that  offered  itself  of  dealing 
a  blow  at  his  redoubtable  adversary.  On  11  March, 
the  Lord  Talbot  won  a  notable  victory  over  Owen's 
men  at  Grosmont,  and  captured  one  of  Owen's  sons. 
But  the  prince  could  not  prevent  Owen,  with  French 
aid,  from  again  capturing  Carmarthen.  However,  the 
tripartite  convention  of  Owen  with  Mortimer  and 
Northumberland  came   to  nothing,  for  king   Henry 

»   Rymer,  Foedera,  VIII,  356  ;   Adam  de  Usk,  op.  cit.,  257 
»  Proc.  of  Privy  Council,  I,  223-5,  229-31. 


1406-7]  WALES  31 

got  the  better  of  the  northern  rebels,  and  although 
Northumberland  still  escaped  his  fate,  his  coadjutor. 
Archbishop  Scrope,  was,  despite  his  holy  office,  be- 
headed outside  York. 

The  English  found  difficulties  in  maintaining  war 
in  Wales  throughout  the  winter  of  1406  ;  so  that 
whatever  Owen  lost  in  the  summer  he  was  apt  to 
regain  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year.  To  the  king  it 
was  largely  a  question  of  expense  ;  it  was  too  dear 
to  fight  in  winter.  But  the  parliament  whicli  met 
in  March  of  this  year,  at  Westminster,  earnestly 
petitioned  that  the  prince  might  be  kept  continually 
in  the  Welsh  March,  carrying  on  the  war  (3  April).  ^ 
Young  Henry's  commission  had  just  run  out  ;  but 
after  this  expression  of  parliament's  confidence  in 
his  son's  powers,  the  king  at  once  renewed  it ;  and 
on  5  April,  prince  Henry  was  reappointed  Lieutenant 
of  Wales.  Lieutenant  in  those  days  had  a  very  wide 
meaning — "  locum  tenens,"  or  vicegerent.  The  act 
was  auspicious,  for  on  23  April,  Owen's  forces  again 
suffered  defeat,  and  another  son  was  captured. 
Henry,  aged  nineteen,  was  now  coming  into  his  full 
powers. 

Next  year  (1407)  the  war  was  carried  on  with 
continued  vigour  and  tenacity.  The  operations  do 
not  show  any  striking  success.  In  fact  there  was  one 
particular  failure,  for  Aberystwith  which  had  been 
surrendered  by  the  Welsh  to  the  king's  cousin,  the 
Duke  of  York,  was  lost  again  shortly  after.    Yet  the 

1  Rolls  of  Pari,  III,  569. 


32  HENRY  V  [1407-9 

parliament  of  the  same  year  which  sat  at  Gloucester 
from  20  October,  passed  a  special  vote  of  thanks  to 
the  prince  for  his  services  in  Wales.  In  the  same 
parliament  they  took  away  one  of  the  immunities 
enjoyed  by  men  in  the  March  :  the  privilege  by 
which  a  tenant  found  guilty  of  felony  could  escape 
the  consequences  of  his  misdeed  by  transferring  his 
allegiance  to  another  lord  and  paying  an  annual  fine 
of  4d.^  The  object  of  this  curious  privilege  was,  no 
doubt,  to  keep  up  the  number  of  strong  fighters  in 
the  March,  who  would  have  been  greatly  diminished 
if  their  felonies  had  always  been  requited  w^ith  death. 
That  this  privilege  could  be  safely  removed 
shows  that  the  power  of  the  central  government  as 
represented  by  the  prince  Henry  was  now  much 
stronger  and  more  effective. 

The  year  1408  practically  ends  the  Welsh 
trouble.  The  central  event  is  the  siege  and  capture 
of  Aberystwith  by  prince  Henry.  When  that  was 
accomplished,  the  end  of  all  was  in  sight.  It  is  true 
that  fighting  languished  on  and  that  Owen  remained 
untaken,  dying  as  he  had  lived  a  free  and  indepen- 
dent man.^  But  prince  Henry's  part  in  the  war  was 
done.  All  the  great  strongholds  were  again  in  English 
hands  with  the  exception  of  Harlech,  which  was 
captured  in  February,  1409.  Except  in  the  more 
remote  districts,  the  English  power  prevailed  and 
was   accepted.     Not   that   perfect   order  was   main- 

1  Rolls  of  Pari,  III,  615  ;   Ramsay,  op.  cit.,  I,  110. 
*  Adam  de  Usk,  op.  cit.,  313. 


I408-9]  WALES  33 

tained,  for  as  late  as  1411,  parliament  complained 
that  property  was  not  safe  on  the  Welsh  March. 
But  things  now  were  probably  not  worse  than  they 
had  been  before  the  war.  It  was  not  till  Edward  IV 
established  his  special  Comicil  of  Wales  that  peace  on 
the  Welsh  March  began  to  be  as  good  as  in  England. 

Aberystwith  and  Harlech,  the  last  castles  to  hold 
out  for  Owen  Glendower,  were  places  of  great  strength, 
as,  indeed,  were  all  the  Welsh  castles,  ever  since 
Edward  I  had  given  his  attention  to  their  fortifica- 
tion. In  1408  both  castles  were  in  the  hands  of  Owen's 
supporters,  though  Owen  himself  was  in  neither. 
Aberystwith,  in  the  same  year,  the  summer  of  1408, 
had  already  been  once  taken  by  prince  Henry,  and 
retaken  by  Owen's  men,  through  treachery,  it  is 
said.^  When  prince  Henry  in  the  autumn  drew  his 
lines  around  it  again,  he  employed  all  the  science  of 
siege-work  then  known,-  a  knowledge  which  he  was 
still  further  to  apply  in  his  Avars  in  France.  By  the 
end  of  the  year  the  castle  had  yielded.  Harlech,  which 
was  held  by  the  traitor,  Sir  Edmund  Mortimer,  stood 
out  a  few  weeks  longer,  but  surrendered  as  Mortimer 
died  in  the  course  of  the  siege.  ^ 

The  government  of  king  Henry  had  now  triumphed 
over  all  difficulties.  Old  Northumberland  and  Lord 
Bardolf  had  made  their  last  iittempt  upon  the 
Lancastrian  power,  but  had  met  their  fate  at  the  hands 
of  Sir  Thomas  Rokeby,  the  sheriff  of  Yorkshire,  at 

^  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  11,  277.        *     "Elmham,'  op.  cit.,  y-10. 
3  Adam  do  Usk,  op.  cit.,  246-7. 


34  HENRY  V  [1408-15 

Bramham  Moor,  on  19  February,  1408.    This  put  an 
end  to  troubles  in  the  north. 

Thus,  in  the  same  year,  the  Lancastrian  govern- 
ment got  quit  practically  of  two  sores,  one  in  the 
north  and  one  in  Wales.  Owen,  it  is  true,  still  lived 
on  unconquered  till  his  death,  which  is  said  to  have 
occurred  in  1415,  in  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of 
Henry  V.  Some  say  his  life  went  out  through  want 
and  starvation  in  the  mountain  fastnesses  that  hid 
him.^  At  any  rate,  we  know  that  his  power  was 
gone  after  1408.  His  courage  amid  misfortunes  made 
Owen  a  real  hero.  His  schemes  were  all  on  the  grand 
scale  ;  Wales  was  to  have  two  universities,  a  parlia- 
ment, and  all  the  offices  of  an  organised  government. 
The  Welsh  bishops  believed  in  him  ;  he  roused  the 
national  spirit,  and  his  active  life  coincided  with  an 
astonishing  revival  of  Welsh  song  and  literature.  He 
held  up  his  head  with  the  princes  of  France  and 
Scotland,  and  shared  the  councils  of  the  great  rebel 
nobles  of  England.  But  he  could  not  hold  his  own 
in  time  against  the  Lancastrian  government,  which, 
though  hampered  by  incessant  war,  had  a  large 
reserve  of  latent  strength.  King  Henry  IV,  old 
before  his  time,  an  invalid  at  forty-two,  had  courage, 
pertinacity,  and  good  sense,  and  remained  cool  amid 
troubles  from  every  side.  His  attention  was  fre- 
quently diverted  from  Wales,  but  he  never  lost  sight 
of  the  question,  and  though  his  purse  was  empty,  he 
had  always  England  behind  him. 

^  "  Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  10  ;  Adam  de  Uek,  op.  cit.,  313. 


1408-15]  WALES  85 

Moreover,  he  had  his  vigorous,  high-spirited  sons. 
It  is  an  interesting  picture — ^the  sad,  unhealthy  king, 
never  at  rest,  bearing  everything  with  constant 
courage,  surrounded  by  four  sons,  full  of  spirit  and  the 
clamant  assertiveness  of  youth.  There  was  Henry,  the 
prince  of  Wales,  aged  twenty-one,  the  tried  soldier,  the 
successful  commander  of  the  Welsh  war.  His  health, 
weak  in  boyhood,  seemed  now  re-established  by  five 
years'  campaigning  in  Wales.  The  years  had  been 
divided  for  him  into  six  or  eight  months  on  the  March, 
and  four  or  five  months  in  London.  Fresh  from  his  work 
in  the  west,  he  would  come  back  to  London  in  the 
fall  of  the  year  full  of  life  and  energy,  anticipating 
new  pleasure  and  excitement  in  the  capital.^  Every- 
one liked  the  handsome  young  soldier,  with  his  pale 
face  and  energetic  bearing,  his  love  of  sport,  and  his 
aptitude  for  work.  During  his  vacations  from  the 
March,  attendance  in  council  and  parliament  gave 
him  enough  to  do,  but  now  that  the  Welsh  war  was 
over  for  him,  he  lacked  an  outlet  for  his  energy.  The 
king  might  be  intermittently  ill,  but  he  still  meant 
to  keep  the  reins  of  government  in  his  hands  ;  he  was 
still  eminently  capable.  Having  got  through  his 
political  troubles  at  last,  he  naturally  did  not  wish 
to  give  up  the  command  of  the  ship,  now  when  he 
had  steered  her  into  quieter  waters.  Unfortunately 
young  Henry  would  not  wait,  and  soon  began  to 
make  some  trouble  in  the  capital. 

The  second  son  of  the  king  was  Thomas,  a  soldier 
1  "  Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  12-13. 


86  HENRY  V  [1408-15 

too,  and  a  sea-captain,  who  had  lately  commanded 
the  squadron  whose  duty  was  to  guard  the  northern 
sea.  Thomas  was  not  the  ablest  of  the  Lancastrians, 
but  he  was  a  loyal  man  who  worked  for  his  older 
brother  till  he  met  his  death  in  France  at  the  disastrous 
battle  of  Beauge.  Third  in  the  family  came  John,  known 
and  loved  later  as  John  Duke  of  Bedford,  the  hero, 
soldier,  statesman,  who  after  the  death  of  his  eldest 
brother,  Henry  V,  so  nobly  carried  on  the  regency 
for  the  young  minor  king,  his  nephew,  Henry  VI. 
At  this  time  John  was  seventeen  years  old.  Finally, 
two  years  younger,  came  Humphrey,  the  evil  genius 
of  the  family,  clever,  restless,  insatiable  ;  interested 
in  everything  ;  denying  himself  nothing  ;  in  whom 
at  a  later  day  seem  to  have  been  concentrated  all  the 
results  of  the  evil-living  (combined  with  his  own)  of 
his  grandfather,  the  famous  John  of  Gaunt. 


CHAPTER    III 

1408-1413 
BURGUNDIAN  AND  ARMAGNAC 

Prince  Henry  was  now  quit  of  the  Welsh  war,  and 
was  back  with  his  father  in  London.  A  man  of  his 
active  mind  and  body,  used  to  all  the  manly  con- 
ditions of  camp-life,  could  hardly  be  expected  to 
remain  idle  in  London  or  at  Windsor. 

The  king,  though  only  forty-two  years  of  age,  had 
very  delicate  health.  In  the  spring  of  1408,  on 
returning  from  the  north,  where  he  had  been  meting 
out  justice  to  the  rebel  followers  of  Northumberland, 
he  was  seized  with  an  epileptic  fit  at  Mortlake.  He 
was  a  strenuous  worker,  but  bouts  of  illness  often 
interrupted  his  periods  of  work  ;  and  at  such  time 
the  duties  of  government  naturally  fell  upon  prince 
Henry. 

The  prince  had  for  years  been  a  member  of  the 
Privy  Council,  and  during  his  recesses  from  the  Welsh 
war,  had  taken  his  place  at  the  board.  Now  that  he 
was  home  for  good  from  the  war,  his  attendances 
seem  to  have  become  quite  regular. 

In  later  years,  stories  became  current  that  the 
king  resented  the  active  part  which  his  son  took  in 

37 


38  HENRY  V  [1408 

home  affairs  ;r'while  other  stories  arose  of  the  prince 
having  led  a  wild  and  dissolute  life  in  the  capital. 
These  two  views  are  not  altogether  inconsistent ; 
but  on  the  other  hand,  they  can  hardly  both  be 
entirely  true.  It  would  be  difficult  for  the  same  man 
to  be  constant  at  the  Council-table,  a  keen  debater,  a 
close  student  of  affairs,  with  a  party  of  his  own,  and 
a  policy  of  his  own,  and  also  at  the  same  time  to  be  a 
dissolute  youth,  a  roysterer,  a  mohawk,  a  man  of 
low  companions,  whose  delight  was  in  boisterous 
jokes.  His  interest  in  affairs,  however,  is  known  and 
proved,  in  actual  contemporary  references,  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  Privy  Council  and  elsewhere.  All 
the  stories  of  dissipation  arose  at  a  later  date. 

Beyond  this  statement  of  the  case  it  is  impossible 
to  go.  The  records  of  the  Privy  Council  show  that 
the  prince  was  keenly  interested  in  matters  of 
government,  and  that  he  took  an  active  part  in 
public  business.  So  much  is  certain.  Alongside  of 
this  known  fact,  there  is  a  tradition  as  old  as  his 
earliest  biographer,  that  the  prince's  life  was  not 
all  that  might  be  desired  before  he  came  to  the 
throne.^  This  may  be  so.  It  is  not  altogethet^un- 
likely  that  this  vigorous  young  -soldier,  when  he  <;ame 
home  each  year  from  Wales  to  spend  the  winter  near 
London,  after  months  in  the  field,  should  sow  some 
wild  oats.  ~"  He  strove  at  the  service  of  Venus,  as  of 
Mars." 2     But  there  is  no  known  specific  instance .f 

*   "  Elmham,"  op.  cit. 
»  Ibid. 


1408]         BURGUNDIAN  AND  ARMAGNAC        39 

And  there  the  question  must  be  left.  It  is  not  of 
paramount  importance  ;  his  permanent  character, 
the  character  with  which  he  hved  and  died  as  king, 
is  that  of  a  just  and  virtuous  man. 

It  is  not  even  certain  how  far  the  prince's  relations 
towards  his  father  became  strained.  The  king,  in 
spite  of  feeble  health,  liked  his  work,  and  was  deter- 
mined never  to  abandon  it,  till  death  took  it  from 
him.  So  when  the  king  was  ill,  the  prince  was  at  the 
head  of  affairs  ;  but  when  the  king  became  well 
again,  the  prince  was  immediately  reduced  to  the 
second  place.  This  alternation  of  position  might 
give  people  the  impression  that  there  was  a  sort  of 
rivalry  between  father  and  son.  There  is  some 
indication  that  one  party  in  the  state  would  have 
liked  to  see  the  infirm  king  abdicate,  and  give  the 
reins  of  government  into  the  hands  of  his  very  capable 
son.  The  Beauforts,  a  family  that  from  first  to  last 
was  entirely  loyal  to  the  Lancastrians,  may  have  felt 
that  the  abdication  of  the  melancholy  invalid  and 
the  accession  of  the  popular  prince  would  strengthen 
and  completely  establish  the  dynasty.  If  a  hint  of 
abdication  in  favour  of  the  prince  was  offered  to  the 
king,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  father,  rendered 
fretful  by  disease,  would  consider  that  his  son  in- 
spired the  hint,  as  indeed  he  certainly  openly  favoured 
the  party  which  made  it.  The  prince  advocated  a 
different  line  of  foreign  policy  from  the  king  ;  but 
each  had  a  right  to  his  opinion.  On  one  occasion  the 
prince  did  wrong,  for  like  Lord  Palmerston  in  later 


40  HENRY  V  [1408-11 

days,  he  sent  off  an  unauthorised  dispatch  (and  also 
an  unauthorised  expedition).  But  the  king  soon 
asserted  himself  and  set  this  right,  and  the  prince 
was  thus,  as  it  were,  publicly  snubbed.  In  this  there 
is  nothing  surprising.  Young  men  often  feel  that 
they  know  better  than  their  elders  ;  the  prince  tried 
to  put  his  own  ideas  in  force  and  was  very  properly 
checked  by  his  father.  It  is  not  likely  that  they 
loved  each  other  less  in  the  end  for  this.  The  elder 
Henry  was  in  later  life  an  austere  man  ;  and  the 
younger  Henry  did  not  carry  his  heart  on  his  sleeve 
either.  That  the  fatiier  and  son  did  not  fall  on  each 
other's  neck  is  no  proof  that  they  did  not  like  each 
other.  There  was  really  no  lack  of  mutual  respect, 
as  is  shown  by  an  episode  of  the  year  1411,  when  the 
king  in  response  to  a  request  of  the  prince  showed 
unexpected  leniency  to  the  University  of  Oxford.^ 

The  friends  of  the  prince,  as  they  appear  in  the 
authentic  chronicles  of  the  period,  were  the  Beau- 
forts.  From  first  to  last  the  fortunes  of  this  family 
were  linked  with  those  of  the  Lancastrians  ;  they 
saw  the  accession  of  the  dynasty  to  the  throne  in 
1399,  and  it  was  the  last  male  Beaufort  that  led  the 
Lancastrian  forces  on  the  fatal  field  of  Tewkesbury 
in  1471.  From  Henry,  the  great  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, the  wise  and  prudent  counsellor,  whose  long 
career  embraced  the  rise  of  Henry  IV,  the  glories  of 
Henry  V,  and  the  waning  fortunes  of  Henry  VI  (he 
died  in  1447),  to  Edmund,  whose  last  act,  ere  he  left 
^  Munimenta  Academica  (Rolls  Series),  I,  251. 


i4o8]       BURGUNDIAN  AND  ARMAGNAC  41 

the  stricken  field  of  Tewkesbury,  was  to  cleave  with 
his  battle-axe  the  head  of  Lord  Wenlock  whose 
tardiness,  he  believed,  had  ruined  the  day — all  were 
faithful. 

The  family  sprang  fi-om  the  union  of  John  of  Gaunt 
and  Catherine  Roelt,  a  lady  of  Hainault,  widow  of 
Sir  Hugh  Swj'^nford  who  died  in  1372.  John  of 
Gaunt  was  the  third  son  of  Edward  III.  He  was 
thrice  married,  firstly,  in  1359,  to  Blanche,  heiress  of 
the  duchy  of  Lancaster,  who  died  in  1369,  leaving 
four  children,  three  girls  and  one  son,  afterwards 
king  Henry  IV.  His  second  wife,  married  in  1372, 
was  Constance  of  Castile,  who  died  in  1394,  leaving 
one  daughter,  Catherine,  afterwards  Queen-Consort 
of  Castile.  His  third  wife  had  been  his  mistress  for 
over  twenty  years  (their  first  child  was  born  in  1375), 
and  was  married  to  him  in  1396,  a  little  more  than 
two  years  before  his  death. 

Catherine's  children  by  John  of  Gaunt  were,  John, 
afterwards  Earl  of  Somerset,  born  in  1375,  Henry, 
afterwards  Bishop  of  Winchester,  Thomas,  after- 
wards Earl  of  Dorset,  and  Joan  who  was  married 
twice,  first  to  Lord  Ferrers,  and  secondly  to  Ralph 
Neville.  By  acts  of  parliament  in  1397  and  1407, 
the  family,  though  born  before  their  mother's  marriage 
with  John  of  Gaunt,  were  declared  to  be  legitimate. 
They  were,  however,  by  a  condition  contained  in  the 
second  statute,  debarred  from  any  possibility  of 
succeeding  to  the  throne.  On  being  legitimated, 
they  took  the  name  of  Beaufort,  which  was  a  castle 


42  HENRY  V  [1408 

in  Anjou,  granted  to  John  of  Gaunt  after  Edward 
the  third's  French  conquests.  The  first  Beauforts 
were  thus  half-brothers  of  Henry  IV,  a  quasi-royal 
house,  whose  fortunes  were  closely  bound  up  with 
those  of  the  reigning  family,  but  whose  position, 
though  high,  was  such,  by  the  circumstances  of 
their  birth  and  by  their  statutory  limitation,  that 
they  could  never  be  tempted  to  aim  at  the  crown. 
Their  position  depended  upon  the  position  of  the 
Lancastrians  ;   they  stood  or  fell  with  the  dynasty. 

Thus  by  inclination  and  by  interest  the  Beauforts 
were  loyal  ;  their  history  throughout  was  entirely 
honourable  ;  a  useful,  hard-working  family  of  the 
high  nobility,  admitted  to  the  inner  councils  of  the 
crown. 

In  the  latter  years  of  king  Henry  IV,  the  Beauforts 
were  specially  connected  with  the  prince.  Henry  Beau- 
fort had  been  made  Bishop  of  Lincoln  by  Richard  II 
in  1398,  when  only  twenty-one  years  old  ;  after 
the  accession  of  king  Henry  IV,  he  acted  as  tutor  to 
the  prince  ;  in  1404  he  was  translated  to  Winchester, 
on  the  death  of  William  of  Wykeham.  Although  he 
resigned  his  political  position  of  chancellor  at  the 
same  time,  he  retained  a  great  interest  in  public 
affairs,  and  when  prince  Henry  came  back  from  the 
Welsh  wars,  the  bishop  was  one  of  his  most  constant 
friends  and  counsellors. 

Gradually  two  parties  formed  in  the  Privy  Council. 
The  king  very  naturally  meant  to  keep  affairs  in  his 
own  hands,  intending  to  go  his  own  way,  and  was 


i4o8]       BURGUNDIAN  AND  ARMAGNAC  48 

steadfastly  supported  by  the  chancellor,  Thomas 
Arundel,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  This  vigorous 
prelate,  now  (1408)  fifty-five  years  old,  had  been  one 
of  the  chief  instruments  in  raising  Henry  of  Lancaster 
to  the  throne  ;  he  had  supported  Henry  as  a  chosen 
vessel  to  heal  the  diseases  of  the  Church,  and  to  put 
down  Lollardy.  He  was  an  active  statesman,  though 
it  is  chiefly  for  his  zeal  against  the  Lollards  that  he  is 
remembered. 

The  Archbishop  was  an  old  man  as  age  was  reckoned 
in  those  days,  and  he  looked  to  the  past,  and  was  glad 
enough  to  maintain  the  present  conditions  of  govern- 
ment. But  the  Beauforts  looked  to  the  future. 
They  saw  that  the  brilliant  and  popular  prince  who 
might  succeed  to  the  crown  at  any  moment,  had  a 
firm  line  of  policy  of  his  own  ;  and  they  took  their 
stand  by  the  prince.  In  this  they  were  joined  by  the 
young  Earl  of  Arundel,  the  nephew  of  the  Arch- 
bishop, a  man  of  twenty-eight,  who  had  fought  with 
the  prince  in  the  Welsh  war.  The  question  which 
divided  the  Council  was  that  of  the  Burgundians  and 
the  Armagnacs,  the  civil  war  between  whom  forms 
a  sad  chapter  in  the  history  of  France,  being  a  record 
of  murders  and  treasons.  The  policy  of  creating 
appanages,  adopted  by  several  of  the  French  kings, 
was  fatal  to  the  unity  of  the  monarchy.  The  most 
dangerous  appanage  of  all  was  Burgundy.  In  1363 
the  good  king  John  of  France  had  given  Burgundy, 
with  full  hereditary  rights,  to  his  fourth  son,  Philip, 
"  Le  Hardi."      Philip  by  his  marriage  and  by  his 


44  HENRY  V  [1408 

politic  acts  added  greatly  to  his  lordships,  and  at  his 
death  handed  on  to  his  son,  Duke  John,  "  Sans  Peur," 
dominions  which  stretched  from  the  Scheldt  and  the 
Ardennes  to  the  Sa6ne  and  the  Jm-a.  All  this  was 
held  in  full  sovereignty,  save  only  for  the  tie  of 
feudal  allegiance  to  the  French  crown. 

In  1392  the  reigning  king,  Charles  VI,  became  mad, 
and  for  the  rest  of  his  life  his  madness  was  inter- 
mittent. From  this  time  control  of  the  royal  govern- 
ment was  a.  point  of  contention  among  the  princes 
of  the  blood.  On  the  one  hand,  was  Louis,  Duke  of 
Orleans,  brother  of  Charles  VI ;  on  the  other,  was 
Philip,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  first  cousin  to  the  king. 
Each  prince  from  time  to  time  appeared  in  Paris 
with  large  forces,  but  civil  war  had  not  actually 
broken  out,  when  Philip  the  Bold  died  in  his  castle 
of  Halle  in  Brabant  in  1404.  His  son,  John,  "  Sans 
Peur,"  was  a  man  of  a  very  different  stamp,  and 
civil  war  was  not  long  in  appearing. 

In  1405  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  gained  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  a  champion  of  the  lower  classes,  by 
protesting  against  a  tax  imposed  by  the  council  on 
the  initiative  of  Duke  Louis  of  Orleans.  Orleans  was 
forced  to  give  up  the  reins  of  government  to  Burgundy. 
Louis  then  withdrew  from  Paris,  only  to  return  with 
a  large  force  to  besiege  it.  Peace,  however,  was 
arranged  between  the  two  dukes  by  one  of  the  mad 
king's  brothers  ;  and  on  20  November,  1407,  the 
rivals  received  the  sacrament  together  in  the  church 
of  the  Augustins  in  Paris.    Three  days  later  the  Duke 


I408-9]     BURGUNDIAN  AND  ARMAGNAC  45 

of  Orleans  was  murdered  near  the  Porte  Barbette. 
Duke  John  of  Burgundy  at  first  disclaimed  any 
implication  in  the  murder,  but  not  long  afterwards 
avowed  it.  His  conduct  was  generally  approved  by 
the  populace  of  the  capital,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
he  became  for  a  time  practically  dictator  of  France.^ 
But  the  rival  party  soon  raised  its  head, 
under  the  nominal  leadership  of  Charles,  Duke  of 
Orleans,  son  of  the  murdered  Louis.  Charles,  when 
a  youth  of  fifteen  (1406),  had  married  his  cousin, 
Isabella,  widow  of  the  English  king  Richard  II.  She 
died  in  1409,  and  next  year  he  married  Bonne, 
daughter  of  Bernard  VII,  Count  of  Armagnac  in 
Gascony,  one  of  the  greatest  noblemen  in  France. 
Armagnac,  though  included  in  1360  in  English 
Gascony,  was  not  now  in  the  area  of  English  control. 
The  family  had  been  one  of  the  first  to  make  on- 
slaughts on  the  power  which  England  had  gained  at 
the  Treaty  of  Bretigny.  Under  Count  Bernard,  a 
wise  leader  and  brilliant  soldier,  the  Orleanist  party, 
under  the  name  of  Armagnacs,  again  became  strong. 
Duke  Charles  was  not  a  very  vigorous  man,  and  is 
now  chiefly  notable  for  the  graceful  poems  which  he 
made  at  a  later  day  when  captive  in  England,  and 
which  are  the  harbingers  of  the  glories  of  Villon 
and  the  other  poets  who  grew  up  in  the  later 
period  of  the  Hundred  Years'  War.  But  Bernard 
of  Armagnac  by  his  wealth  and  ability  was  able  to 
keep  the  rival  factions  in  at  least  a  state  of  equilibrium. 

*  Waurin,  Recueil  des  croniques,  113  ff. 


46  HENRY  V  [1409-11 

Each  party,  therefore,  wanted  some  decisive 
authority  which  should  give  the  preponderance  to 
the  chosen  cause.  The  mad  king,  Charles,  though  in 
his  lucid  intervals  he  manfully  did  his  best,  was  un- 
able to  be  a  continuous  and  decisive  arbiter.  Accord- 
ingly the  parties  looked  to  some  external  power,  and 
mutually  fixed  on  England.  It  was  over  this  point  the 
king,  Henry  IV,  and  the  prince  of  Wales  differed  ; 
they  were  each  ready  enough  to  make  an  alliance  with 
one  of  the  parties,  and  to  fish  in  the  troubled  waters 
of  France.  But  the  king  favoured  the  Orleanist 
interest,  and  the  prince  the  Burgundian. 

So  far  as  England  was  concerned  nothing  definite 
happened  till  1411.  Meanwhile  the  prince  was 
steadily  gaining  influence  at  home.  He  was  taking  a 
prominent  part  in  the  Council  ;  and  early  in  the  year 
1409  he  was  made  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports  and 
Constable  of  Dover.  The  salary  due  to  him  for  these 
posts  was  £300  a  year,  a  considerable  sum  for  those 
days,  which  must  be  set  off  against  the  out-of-pocket 
payments  of  the  prince  in  the  Welsh  war.  It  was 
thought  that  a  wife  should  now  be  found  for  him — 
not  the  first  time  this  question  had  arisen.  Catherine,  ^ 
daughter  of  Charles  VI  of  France,  was  suggested,  as  a 
year's  truce  was  being  made  with  that  country.  But 
nothing  came  of  the  suggestion  for  the  present. 

The  prince  had  a  lifelong  interest  in  the  University 
of  Oxford.  In  this  year  he  had  to  champion  it,  or  a 
part  of  it,  against  Archbishop  Arundel.    In  January, 

1  Rymer,  Foedera,  VIII,  571,  586,  593,  699. 


4.,^o 


^  .a":*?>  <?  '^^  s-'^' '*■  V ''4,"^^-  '^''  ^ 


■<r-. 


I4I0-II]   BURGUNDIAN  AND  ARMAGNAC  47 

1408,  at  a  provincial  synod  at  St.  Paul's,  the  Arch- 
bishop obtained  the  re-enactment  of  some  constitu- 
tions or  ecclesiastical  decrees  against  Lollards.  These 
decrees  had  been  resisted  in  Oxford,  even  by  men 
who  were  not  Lollards.  After  the  re-enactment  of 
the  decrees,  they  were  still  resisted  at  Oxford,  where 
Lollardy  had  never  been  stamped  out,  in  spite  of  the 
expulsion  of  Wycliffe  twenty-seven  years  earlier. 
The  prince  backed  up  his  old  University  ;  the  Arch- 
bishop's constitutions  still  remained  a  dead  letter 
there.  It  has  been  suggested^  that  the  prince  adopted 
this  attitude  merely  because  in  general  politics  he 
was  opposed  to  the  Archbishop.  He  certainly  was 
never  an  upholder  of  Lollardy  in  general.  But  the 
truth  is  that  the  prince  never  was  a  great  persecutor 
of  Lollards,  except  when  they  were  mixed  up  with 
political  rebellion  ;  and  at  no  time,  as  may  be  seen 
from  his  later  actions  towards  the  alien  priories,  was 
he  a  blind  supporter  of  the  Church. 

This  opposition  was  felt  as  a  severe  rebuff  by  the 
Archbishop,  and  he  resigned  his  position  as  chancellor 
of  the  kingdom.  2  Sir  Thomas  Beaufort  was  then 
appointed  chancellor,  and  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  all 
the  members  of  this  family,  while  undoubtedly 
faithful  to  the  king,  were  particularly  in  the  interest 
of  the  prince  of  Wales.  For  the  next  two  years, 
throughout  1410  and  1411,  the  prince,  owing  to  the 
ill-health  of  his  father,  took  the  leading  part  in  all 

1  Ramsay,  Lancaster  and  York,  1,  123. 

*  Arundel's  resignation  was  on  21  December,  1409, 


48  HENRY  V  [1410 

affairs  of  government.  He  held  at  home  the  position  of 
president  of  the  Council,  and  on  the  death  of  John 
Beaufort,  Earl  of  Somerset,  was  also  appointed 
Captain  of  Calais  abroad  (18  March,  1410).  The 
Captaincy  of  Calais  was  considered  in  the  fifteenth 
century  to  be  the  highest  position  under  the  crown. 
The  prince,  however,  did  not  go  to  Calais  for  another 
month.  He  never  spent  any  long  period  continuously 
there,  but  went  backwards  and  forwards  between 
London  and  Calais,  at  one  time  looking  after  the 
garrison  in  France,  at  another  time  presiding  in  the 
Council  in  London. 

During  this  year  (1410),  the  })rince's  residence  was 
Coldharbour,  in  Eastcheap,  described  by  Stow  as 
a  "  right  fair  and  stately  house."  It  had  come  to 
king  Henry  IV  from  his  wife,  whose  father,  Humphrey 
de  Bohun,  held  it  from  the  citizen  family  of  Poultney, 
on  condition  of  presenting  a  rose  at  Midsummer,  if 
demanded.^  This  house  was  the  prince's  London 
residence,  apparently  from  the  beginning  of  the  year  ; 
and  on  18  March,  the  king  granted  it  to  him  for  life.^ 
Its  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  Heralds'  college. 

It  was  just  before  his  appointment  to  Calais  that 
the  famous  episode  of  the  burning  of  John  Badby 
occurred.  Badby  was  a  smith,  ^  of  Evesham,  who, 
in  January,  1409,  had  been  tried  and  found  guilty  of 
lieresy    by   the    diocesan    court    of    Worcester.      On 

^  Tyler,  Henry  of  Monmouth,  I,  258. 

2  Calendar  of  the  Patent  Rolls  (1408-13),  172. 

^  Walsingham,  Historia  Anglicmia,  II,  283. 


I4IO]       BURGUNDIAN  AND  ARMAGNAC  49 

1  and  30  March,  1410,  he  was  again  exammed  and 
found  guilty  before  Convocation  in  London. 

He  affirmed  his  belief  in  God  and  the  Trinity  ;  but 
he  did  not  believe  that  the  priest's  blessing  could 
make  the  Lord's  body,  for  if  so  there  would  be  20,000 
(iods  in  England.^  Having  been  found  guilty  by  the 
ecclesiastics  he  was  given  up  to  be  burned  by  the 
secular  authority  at  Smithfield,  under  the  statute  of 
Henry  IV,  "  de  heretico  comburendo."  The  prince 
was  present  at  the  burning,  but  he  used  his  power  so 
far  as  he  could  on  the  side  of  mercy  ;  when  the  fire 
was  burning,  and  the  agonies  of  the  poor  man  became 
terrible,  the  prince  commanded  that  the  fire  be  with- 
drawn, came  to  him,  and  offered  a  pension  of  3d.  a 
day  to  him,  if  he  would  recant.  ^  But  Badby  was 
constant,  and  the  prince  had  to  let  the  law  take  its 
course. 

While  the  prince  had  his  residence  in  Coldharbour, 
there  is  mention  in  the  chronicle  of  London  of  frays 
and  horse-play  in  the  streets  by  night.  But  only  the 
king's  sons,  Thomas  and  John,  are  mentioned  by 
name  ;  and  as  the  chronicler  did  not  mind  naming 
these  it  is  not  likely  that  he  would  have  scrupled  to 
use  the  name  of  the  prince  too,  had  Henry  been 
implicated.^  On  the  other  hand,  the  story  that  the 
prince  "  would  wait  in  disguised  array  for  his  own 
receivers,  and  distresse  them  of  their  money  "  can 

'   Ramsay,  op.  cit.,  I,  125. 

-  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  282. 

^  Chronicle  of  London  (ed.  Nicolas),  93. 


50  HENRY  V  [1410-13 

be  traced  back  nearly  to  the  prince's  lifetime.^  It  is 
added  that  these  receivers  were  not  held  responsible 
by  the  prince  for  the  money  thus  taken,  but  that  it  was 
allowed  to  them  in  their  accounts.  At  this  time  the 
whole  revenue  of  the  prince  was  about  £3000  a  year, 
derived  mainly  from  estates  and  dues  in  Cornwall.  The 
story  of  the  prince's  arrest  by  Chief  Justice  Gascoigne, 
which  first  appears  120  years  afterwards,  is  now  con- 
sidered to  be  referable,  if  at  all,  not  to  the  fifteenth 
century,  but  to  the  end  of  the  thirteenth,  when 
Edward  I  had  great  trouble  with  his  son.^ 

All  this  time  the  financial  condition  of  the  prince 
was  not  good.  The  accounts  of  the  prince's  house- 
hold, ^  from  October,  1410,  to  March,  1413,  give 
receipts  at  £17,253.  But  £6850  was  due  to  creditors. 
It  is  not  possible  to  ascertain  how  much  of  these  debts 
was  due  to  personal  extravagance,  and  how  much  to 
the  private  payments  of  the  prince,  when  in  Wales, 
towards  the  upkeep  of  his  forces.  These  payments 
which  were  for  public  purposes  and  ought  to  have 
come  out  of  the  public  purse  are  known  to  have  been 
large. 

In  1411  the  question  about  English  help  to  Bur- 
gundian  or  Armagnac  became  acute.     Each  party 

^  The  story  is  alluded  to  in  Redinayne's  History  of  Henry  F,  11. 
Redmayno  probably  wrote  about  the  year  1540.  See  Editor's 
Preface,  x.  It  is  given  fully  in  the  First  English  Life  of  1513,  on 
the  authority  of  the  Earl  of  Ormonde  (1392-1452).  See  edition  by 
Kingsford,  p.  ]  7. 

*  Stubbs,  Constitutional  History,  III,  78-9  ;  Ramsay,  op.  cit., 
I,  127,  note  1. 

^  Given  in  Ramsay,  op.  cit.,  I,  126,  note  6. 


141 1]       BURGUNDIAN  AND  ARMAGNAC  51 

was  asking  for  English  help.  The  king  was  not  loath 
to  give  it  on  certain  terms.  On  the  whole  he  now 
leant  towards  the  Burgundian  faction,  as  there  had 
been  a  coolness  between  him  and  the  Orleans  family 
for  some  years.  Louis,  Duke  of  Orleans,  had  sup- 
ported the  Pseudo-Richard.  Moreover,  England's 
trade  with  Flanders  was  valuable,  and  the  frugal 
Henry  would  be  unwilling  to  offend  the  lord  of  that  rich 
country.  A  proposal  from  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
that  his  eldest  daughter  should  marry  prince  Henry 
was  favourably  received,  though  nothing  came  of  it. 
So  the  king  deputed  the  Earl  of  Arundel,^  who  was 
a  friend  of  the  prince,  to  negotiate  with  Burgundy, 
but  not  to  conclude  any  definite  treaty  without 
referring  back  to  the  king.  It  was  at  this  point  that 
the  prince  intervened,  ^  using  his  authority  as  president 
of  the  Council  to  collect  a  force  of  1200  soldiers,  and 
send  them  off  to  France  with  Arundel  as  leader.' 

This  action  of  the  prince  has  been  greatly  criticised, 
and  is  believed  to  have  brought  about  a  certain  cool- 
ness between  himself  and  the  king.  Certainly  the 
prince  seems  to  have  gone  much  further  than  his 
father  intended.  It  may  have  been  merely  an  error 
of  judgment.  He  may  have  thought  that  the  king, 
while  wishing  to  appear  neutral,  would  not  be 
averse  from  a  show  of  force,  so  long  as  it  did  not 
come  directly  from  himself.    Monarchs  have  on  other 

^  Proc.  oj  Privy  Gomicil,  LI,  20. 

'  Chronicle  of  London,  93  ;   Hardyng,  Chronicle,  369. 

'  This  was  on  3  September,  1411. 


52  HENRY  V  [141 1 

occasions  given  instructions  which  mean  more  than 
is  carried  on  the  face  of  them.  If  the  king  had  not 
meant  something  hke  this,  it  is  cmious  that  he  did 
not  stop  the  expedition  before  it  started.  Troops 
and  ships  can  hardly  be  mobihsed  without  the  know- 
ledge of  the  sovereign,  especially  when  the  sovereign 
is  an  alert  man,  as  Henry  IV  usually  was.  It  is 
possible,  however,  that  the  king  had  one  of  his  attacks 
of  illness  at  the  time,  though  nothing  is  said  of  such 
a  thing  in  the  sources  of  the  period.  Anyhow, 
the  prince's  action,  though  crowned  with  success, 
met  later  with  the  emphatic  disapproval  of  his 
father. 

This  expedition  drawn  out  of  obscurity,  and  shown 
to  be  the  beginning  of  a  portentous  period  for  England, 
is  a  prelude  to  the  great  campaign  of  Agincourt.  It 
showed  the  English  how  successful  they  might  be,  if 
they  landed  a  well -equipped,  although  perhaps  small 
army  in  France.  The  force  of  1200  men,  with  the 
Earl  of  Arundel  and  certain  English  knights,  including 
prince  Henry's  friend,  the  famous  Sir  John  Old- 
castle,  landed  at  Sluys.i  The  Englishmen  made 
their  way  to  Paris,  which  was  partly  held  by 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  The  Orleanists  were  posted 
in  Montmartre  and  St.  Cloud  ;  but  with  the  assistance 
of  the  English  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  was  able  to 
drive  them  out  altogether,  on  30  October,  1411.  Ten 
days  later  a  regular  battle  was  fought  at  St.  Cloud, 

^  Holinshed,  op.  cit.,  637  ;   cp.  VValsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  286. 


1411]       BURGUNDIAN  AND  ARMAGNAC  53 

and  again  the  English  signalised  themselves.*  St. 
Cloud  was  captured,  and  the  Orleanists  fell  back  to 
the  Loire.  Practically  all  the  north  of  France  was 
secured  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  Towards  the  end 
of  December,  the  English  auxiliaries  were  sent  back 
to  England  well  rewarded. 

The  success  of  the  expedition  does  not  seem  to 
have  justified  the  prince's  action  in  the  eyes  of  the 
king.  Henry  IV  had  for  two  years  practically  left 
government  through  the  Council  in  the  hands  of  the 
prince.  Now  all  this  was  changed.  Hitherto  the 
king  had  paid  the  greatest  respect  to  the  wishes  of 
the  commons  ;  the  prince  was  very  popular 
with  the  house  of  commons,  and  it  was  with  their 
approval  that  he  had  become  so  great  in  the  govern- 
ment. But  the  king  was  no  longer  to  have  in  his 
Council  only  those  approved  by  parliament.  When 
the  commons,  who  had  sat  from  3  November,  1411, 
were  being  dismissed  at  the  end  of  their  session  (on 
19  December),  the  king  told  them  that  he  would 
"  be  and  stand  in  as  great  liberty,  prerogative,  or 
franchise,  as  any  of  his  progenitors."^ 

This  was  a  great  change  of  attitude,  and  shows 
how  the  royal  power  had  gradually  re-established 
itself  since  1399,  owing  to  the  conscientious,  capable 
administration  of  the  king,  and  to  the  winning, 
ingenuous  ways  of  the  prince.  If  it  is  true  as  was 
asserted,  that  the  prince's  friends  had  suggested  that 

^  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  286 ;  Monatrelet,  La  Chronique, 
LXXXI. 

»  Bolla  of  Pari.,  Ill,  668. 


54  HENRY  V  [1412 

the  king  should  abdicate,^  the  elder  Henry  soon 
showed  them  their  mistake.  The  present  ministers' 
term  of  office  ran  out  at  the  end  of  the  year  ;  and  the 
ministers  appointed  in  January,  1412,  were  none  of 
the  prince's  friends  ;  at  the  head  of  all  Archbishop 
Arundel  came  back  as  Chancellor  ;  and  the  prince 
and  his  friend,  Henry  Beaufort,  Bishop  of  Winchester, 
disappeared  for  a  time  from  tlie  Council.  Hardyng, 
the  rhyming  historian,  says  plainly, 

The  king  discharged  the  prince  from  his  counsel, 
And  set  my  lord  Sir  Thomas  in  his  stead. ^ 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  prince  was  in  disfavour. 
Yet  before  they  were  dismissed,  the  commons  in 
December,  1411,  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  old 
Council,  mentioning  particularly  the  name  of  the 
prince  of  Wales  ;  and  the  prince,  in  replying,  said, 
perhaps  referring  to  the  Burgundian  expedition,  that 
if  the  Council  had  had  more  means  at  their  disposal, 
they  could  have  done  more  for  the  honour  and  profit 
of  the  kingdom.^ 

Henry  IV  took  another  view.  The  Orleans  party 
in  France,  having  seen  the  value  of  English  help  in 
the  Burgundian  expedition,  sent  to  the  king  and  the 
new  Council,  to  ask  for  support  ;   and  in  return  they 

1  See  the  reply  of  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  to  these  reports,  in 
Rolls  of  Pari.,  IV,  298. 

*  Hardyng,  Chronicle,  369.    See  also  Ramsay,  op.  cit.,  I,  135. 

*  Rolls  of  Pari.,  Ill,  649.  The  suggestion  is  made  by  Ramsay, 
op.  cit.,  I,  133. 


1412]       BURGUNDIAN  AND  ARMAGNAC  55 

offered  Aquitaine.^  This  was  an  offer  that  no  English 
king  could  refuse.  Parts  of  Aquitaine  had  been  con- 
nected with  the  English  crown  ever  since  the  days 
of  Henry  II.  But  it  was  a  fluid  possession,  French 
power  was  always  encroaching  on  it,  and  by  the  year 
1412,  little  more  remained  to  the  English  than 
Bordeaux,  and  a  strip  of  country  from  the  Charente 
to  the  Adour. 

A  treaty  was  concluded,  and  the  king  agreed  to 
send  1000  men-at-arms  and  3000  archers  to  aid  the 
Orleanists  in  France.  With  great  difficulty  ^  the 
Council  found  enough  money,  and  the  force  was  got 
together  at  Southampton,  and  finally  dispatched  on 
9  August,  under  command  of  the  king's  second  son, 
Thomas,  who  had  lately  been  created  Duke  of 
Clarence.^  They  landed  at  La  Hogue,  and  gradually 
worked  their  way  over  that  part  of  Normandy  known 
as  the  Cotentin,  capturing  small  towns  on  the  way. 
As  they  proceeded  they  plundered  and  ravaged  the 
country.  *  But  by  this  time  the  king  of  France,  Charles 
VI,  in  a  lucid  interval,  furious  at  the  shameful 
buying  and  selling  of  his  country,  had  gathered  the 
forces  that  still  obeyed  the  crown,  and  induced  the 
Burgundians  and  Armagnacs  again  to  patch  up  some 
sort  of  peace.  So  the  Duke  of  Orleans  paid  the 
English  forces  what  was  due  to  them,  and  invited 

1  Wals.,  II,  288. 

«  Proc.  oj  Privy  Council,  II,  31,  121. 
^  Rymer,  Foedera,  VIII,  757  ;   Chronicle  of  London,    94. 
*  Religieux  de  St.  Denys,  IV,  720.    Waurin,  op.  cit.,  160,  says  that 
the  English  behaved  very  badly. 


56  HENRY  V  [1412 

them  to  retire.  There  was  nothing  left  for  Clarence 
to  do  but  to  leave  France  without  gaining  anything 
more.i  The  English  now  had  actively  assisted  both 
parties  in  turn,  and  naturally  had  gained  the  gratitude 
of  neither. 

It  is  clear  that  this  expedition  was  made  much 
against  the  wishes  of  the  prince,  and  during  the  time 
it  occupied,  he  was  living  partly  in  retirement  out  of 
London,  probably  at  some  royal  manor  that  had  been 
put  at  his  disposal,  partly  at  Calais  where  he  was  still 
Lieutenant.  He  had  plenty  of  friends,  however  ; 
just  before  the  expedition  started  he  came  to  London, 
on  30  June,  with,  it  is  said,  many  lords  and  gentlemen, 
to  demand  the  dismissal  of  those  evil  councillors  who 
had  sown  discord  between  his  father  and  himself. 
The  king  told  him  that  he  must  put  his  grievances 
before  parliament  for  consideration. 

Again,  after  the  failure  of  Clarence's  expedition  in 
favour  of  the  Orleanists,  the  prince  once  more  came 
to  London  with  a  great  concourse  of  people  to  bring 
his  wishes  before  the  Council.  These  visits  must 
have  been  rather  trying  for  the  king's  councillors, 
although  the  prince  does  not  seem  to  have  meant 
anything  in  the  way  of  a  demonstration  with  armed 
force.  The  prince  stayed  at  Westminster  Palace,  and 
had  for  his  special  apartment  the  Green  Chamber. 
One  evening  a  strange  man  was  discovered  lurking 
behind  a  "  tapet."    On  being  examined,  he  confessed 

*  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  161.  As  they  marched  back  they  behaved 
with  more  moderation  than  the  French.    St.  Denya,  IV,  loc.  cit. 


I4I2]       BURGUNDIAN  AND  ARMAGNAC  57 

to  having  been  sent  by  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  to 
assassinate  the  prince.^  This  statement  is  wholly 
absurd,  as  Henry  of  Winchester  was  a  man  of  excellent 
character,  and  a  lifelong  friend  of  the  prince.  It 
seems  impossible  to  discover  who  was  at  the  bottom 
of  this  attempted  assassination  ;  the  matter  was 
probed  no  further,  and  the  man  was  tied  up  in  a  sack 
at  the  order  of  the  Earl  of  Arundel,  and  thrown  into 
the  Thames. 

The  prince  although  not  a  member  of  the  Council, 
had  always  quite  a  court  of  people  about  him,  more 
numerous  than  his  father's. ^  He  evidently  felt  his 
father's  displeasure  keenly,  and  these  visits  to 
London  were  attempts  to  set  himself  right  in  the 
eyes  of  the  nation  and  of  the  king.  He  was  careful 
not  to  let  his  lords  and  gentlemen  advance  beyond 
the  fire  in  the  hall,^  in  order  to  remove  all  suspicion 
from  his  father  of  any  intention  to  overawe  or 
intimidate  him. 

Some  time  previously,  early  in  1412,  the  prince 
had  been  accused  in  the  Council  of  having  mis- 
appropriated some  of  the  funds  due  to  the  garrison 
of  Calais.  But  the  charge,  one  of  the  worst  that  can 
be  brought  against  a  soldier  and  administrator,  was 
easily  shown  to  be  baseless,  by  the  production  of  the 
prince's  accounts  for  the  funds.* 

1  Rolls  of  Pari,  IV,  298.  1412  is  the  most  probable  date.  See 
Ramsay,  op.  cit.,  I,  140. 

*  Holinshed,  op.  cit.,  539. 
»  Ibid. 

*  Proc.  of  Privy  Council,  II,  34. 


58  HENRY  V  [1412-13 

All  this  goes  far,  on  a  sympathetic  reading,  to 
explain  the  behaviour  both  of  the  prince  and  the 
king  in  these  last  days.  The  prince,  conscious  of  great 
powers,  and  of  a  high  character,  was  uneasy  at  the 
attacks  of  certain  of  the  councillors ;  the  king,  worn- 
out  by  the  disease  of  the  skin  which  had  been  with 
him  for  years,  was  perhaps  apt  to  be  irritable  and 
suspicious.  Yet,  on  the  whole,  the  two  men  under- 
stood each  other,  and  were  easily  reconciled. 
The  words  reported  of  the  king  in  the  Eliza- 
bethan chronicler's  annals  may  not  be  verbally 
correct,  but  they  probably  are  in  substance  true  : 
"  My  right  dear  and  heartily  beloved  son,  it  is  of 
truth  that  I  had  you  partly  suspect,  and  as  I  now 
perceive,  undeserved  on  your  party  :  but  seeing  this 
your  humility  and  faithfulness,  I  shall  not  from 
henceforth  have  you  any  more  in  mistrust,  for  any 
reports  that  shall  be  made  unto  me,  and  thereof  I 
assure  you  upon  mine  honour."  These  words  are 
said  to  have  passed  on  the  prince's  visit  to  London 
on  23  September,  1412.  ^ 

The  king  was  nearing  his  end.  He  had  for  some 
years  been  threatened  with  death,  having  had 
several  attacks  of  epilepsy.  The  final  attack  which 
carried  him  off,  came  on  Monday,  20  March,  when 
he  was  attending  service  in  Westminster  Abbey,  at 
the  tomb  of  Edward  the  Confessor.    He  lay  for  some 

^  Stow,  Annals  (1631),  340.  [Stow  also  says  the  prince  offered 
a  dagger  for  his  father  to  slay  him  with,  if  he  thought  his  son  un- 
faithful (cp.  Chronicle  of  London,  95).  This  is  confirmed  by  the 
First  English  Life,  13.] 


I4I3]        BURGUNDIAN  AND  ARMAGNAC  59 

hours  in  the  Jerusalem  Chamber  of  the  Abbey,  con- 
scious at  least  for  some  portions  of  the  time.  Prince 
Henry  was  present  at  the  end,  and  received  his 
father's  kiss  and  blessing. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  LEGENDARY   AND  THE   REAL  HENRY 

With  the  death  of  his  father,  Henry  V  steps  into 
the  clear  Hght  of  history.  As  king,  he  was  easily  the 
most  impressive  person  in  England,  the  administrator, 
the  statesman,  the  soldier  ;  from  his  accession  he 
personally  undertook  all  the  general  concerns  of  his 
kingdom,  and  kept  all  control  in  his  own  hands. 
Thus  the  chronicles  and  state  papers  are  full  of  his 
doings,  and  his  movements  can  be  traced  with 
accuracy.  But  it  is  otherwise  with  the  years  before 
his  accession.  Then  he  was  not  the  chief  figure  in 
the  kingdom  ;  his  deeds  are  mentioned  among  those 
of  other  men,  his  movements  are  often  obscured,  his 
character  not  specifically  described.  People  of  a 
later  age  were  dissatisfied  with  the  meagre  details  of 
his  youth,  contrasted  with  the  fulness  of  the  know- 
ledge of  his  years  as  king.  So  they  welcomed  any 
hearsay  stories  which  remedied  this  defect  of  the 
contemporary  chronicles  of  king  Henry.  Thus  a 
body  of  traditional  literature  grew  up,  which  luridly 
pictured  the  contrast,  so  dear  to  all  story-tellers,  of  a 
boisterous,  thoughtless  and  scapegrace  youth  turned 
into  a  virtuous  and  prudent  man.     This  traditional 

60 


1387-1413]  THE  REAL  HENRY  61 

literature  had  a  basis  in  real  history,  and  so  must 
not  be  put  entirely  aside.  Moreover,  however 
sharply  the  contrast  is  pointed,  it  has  nothing  wholly 
improbable  about  it.  Human  biography  has  many 
instances  of  a  change  from  gay  to  grave  ;  wildness  in 
youth  is  not  incompatible  with  seriousness  in  later 
life.  Heirs  to  thrones  are  more  likely  than  private 
men  to  experience  such  a  change  ;  for  as  heirs-apparent 
they  have  all  the  means  for  amusement,  but  as  kings 
they  have  the  great  responsibilities  and  traditions  of 
their  office,  to  make  them  serious.  A  wise  prince  is 
sure  to  be  a  good  king  ;  but  a  foolish  prince  does  not 
necessarily  make  a  bad  king.  The  stories  told  in 
Elizabethan  days  concerning  Henry's  youth  are  not 
incredible,  and  need  make  little  difference  to  his 
reputation  as  a  king.  Yet  it  would  be  well  if  the 
stories  could  be  finally  verified  and  sifted.  Unfor- 
tunately, this  is  not  possible,  and  the  question  must 
perhaps  always  remain  controversial.  It  may  be 
worth  while,  however,  to  take  the  chief  of  the  later 
story-tellers,  Shakespeare,  and  to  try  to  distinguish 
in  his  picture  of  prince  Henry,  what  is  known  to  be 
true,  and  what  must  be  left  as  unproven. 

Henry  V  is  portrayed  in  three  different  ways  in  the 
two  parts  of  Shakespeare's  King  Henry  the  Fourth, 
and  in  King  Henry  the  Fifth.  The  first  Henry  is  a 
vigorous  lusty  young  man  aged  sixteen  years, ^  fond 

^  The  battle  of  Shrewsbury,  1403,  takes  place  towards  the  end 
of  the  first  part  of  King  Henry  the  Fourth.  The  prince  was  born 
in  1387. 


62  HENRY  V  [1387-M13 

of  practical  jokes  and  of  horse-play,  enjoying  the  com- 
pany of  low  companions  and  given  to  the  use  of 
extravagant  foul  language.  With  Poins  he  watches 
Falstaff  robbing  the  carriers  at  Gadshill,  and  then 
proceeds  himself  to  rob  Falstaff  : 

The  thieves  have  bound  the  true  men.  Now  could 
thou  and  I  rob  the  thieves,  and  go  merrily  to  London,  it 
would  be  argument  for  a  week,  laughter  for  a  month,  and 
a  good  jest  for  ever.    {Henry  IV,  Pt.  I,  Act  II,  Sc.  2.) 

After  this  adventure,  Henry  draws  on  the  vain- 
glorious Falstaff  to  boast  and  lie  about  his  exploits  : 

Prince.  What,  fought  you  with  them  all  ? 

Fal.  All !  I  know  not  what  you  call  all ;  but  if  I 
fought  not  with  fifty  of  them,  I  am  a  bunch  of 
radish  :  if  there  were  not  two  or  three  and  fifty 
upon  poor  old  Jack,  then  am  I  no  two-legged 
creature. 

Prince.  Pray  God,  you  have  not  murdered  some  of  them. 

Fal.  Nay,  that's  past  praying  for  :  I  have  peppered 
two  of  them ;  two,  I  am  sure,  I  have  paid  ;  two 
rogues  in  buckram  suits.  I  tell  thee  what,  Hal, 
if  I  tell  thee  a  lie,  spit  in  my  face,  call  me  horse. 
Thou  knowest  my  old  ward  ;  here  I  lay,  and 
thus  I  bore  my  point.  Four  rogues  in  buckram 
let  drive  at  me 

Prince.  What,  four  ?    Thou  saidst  but  two  even  now. 

Fal.        Four,  Hal ;   I  told  thee  four. 

Poins.    Ay,  ay,  he  said  four. 

Fal.  These  four  came  all  a-front,  and  mainly  thrust 
at  me.  I  made  me  no  more  ado,  but  took  all 
their  seven  points  in  my  target,  thus. 

Prince.  Seven  ?    Why,  there  were  but  four  even  now. 

Fal.        In  buckram. 


1387-1413]  THE  REAL  HENRY  63 

Poins.    Ay,  four,  in  buckram  suits. 

Fal.        Seven,  by  these  hilts,  or  I  am  a  villain  else. 

So  prince  Henry  leads  him  on,  imtil  Falstaff  has 
sworn  that  he  had  eleven  antagonists,  out  of  which 
number  he  killed  seven.    Then  the  prince  breaks  out  : 

These  lies  are  like  their  father  that  begets  them ; 
gross  as  a  mountain,  open,  palpable.  Why,  thou  clay- 
brained  guts,  thou  knotty -pated  fool,  thou  whoreson 
obscene,  greasy  tallow-catch {Ibid.,  II,  4.) 

Such  language  on  the  part  of  the  prince  is  paralleled 
in  an  earlier  portion  of  the  play,  and  indeed  is  out- 
matched, when  the  prince  abuses  Falstaff  with 
coarse  humour,  in  the  passage  beginning  :  "  Thou  art 
so  fat-witted,  with  drinking  of  old  sack,  and  un- 
buttoning thee  after  supper  ..."  Falstaff  is 
justified  in  retorting  :  "  Thou  hast  the  most  unsavoury 
similes ;  and  art,  indeed,  the  most  comparative, 
rascalliest,  sweet  young  prince."     {Ibid.,  I,  2.) 

If  prince  Henry  did  nothing  wrong  in  robbing  the 
robbers,  he  is  not  so  easily  to  be  excused  for  his 
jokes  at  the  expense  of  the  poor  vintner  or  pot-boy, 
Francis  : 

But,  Ned,  to  drive  away  the  time  till  Falstaff  come,  I 
prithee,  do  thou  stand  in  some  by-room,  while  I  question 
my  puny  drawer  to  what  end  he  gave  me  the  sugar  ;  and 
do  thou  never  leave  calling  "  Francis,"  that  his  tale  to  me 
may  be  nothing  but  "  Anon."    {Ibid.,  II,  4.) 

The  episode,  like  most  practical  jokes,  reflects  more 
credit  on  the  victim  than  on  the  joker.  Indeed, 
Henry  distinctly  lowered  himself,  and  in  his  own 


64  HENRY  V  [i  387-141 3 

words  had  "  sounded  the  very  base-string  of  huniihty," 
He  was  "  sworn-brother  to  a  leash  of  drawers,"  and 
could  "  drink  with  any  tinker  in  his  own  language." 
(Ibid.) 

Such  is  Shakespeare's  first  Henry.  The  second  is 
the  "  new  man,"  the  serious  manly  prince,  who  first 
acts  up  to  his  great  responsibilities  at  the  battle  of 
Shrewsbury,  as  king  forever  puts  aside  all  low 
companions,  answers  firmly  but  without  passion  the 
French  ambassadors  who  insult  him  with  a  present 
of  tennis-balls,  and  sets  out  with  an  unwavering 
confidence  in  God  and  in  the  justice  of  his  own  cause, 
to  conquer  France.  This  second  Henry  is  the  historic 
personage,  the  hero  king  of  England,  as  described  in 
the  history  of  Titus  Livius.  This  historian  was  an 
Italian  who  was  patronised  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VI 
by  Humphrey,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  and  who  about 
the  year  1440,  relying  no  doubt  on  Humphrey's 
information,  wrote  what  has  been  called  the  official 
biography  of  Henry  V.  ^ 

In  Shakespeare's  play  of  King  Henry  the  Fourth, 
the  two  kinds  of  fifth  Henry  are  sharply  contrasted  : 
the  merry,  ill-conducted  young  man ;  the  serious, 
valiant  prince.  But  Shakespeare  does  not  leave  the 
problem  here  ;  he  does  not,  like  a  modern  historian,  ^ 
minimise  the  excesses  of  Henry's  youth,  nor  like 
Walsingham  and  "Elmham"  affirm  the  early  dissolute- 

*  C.  L.  Kingsford,  English  Historical  Literature  in  the  Fifteenth 
Century,  51  ff. 

2  Stubbs,  Constitutional  History,  III,  79. 


1387-1413]  THE  REAL  HENRY  65 

ness  and  leave  unexplained  the  sudden  change  to 
kingly  gravity.  In  Shakespeare's  view,  prince  Henry 
was  always  serious,  always  responsible.  As  prince 
he  feigned  levity  and  wildness,  in  order  that  his 
gravity  and  dutifulness  as  king  might  be  the  more 
appreciated  : 

I  know  you  all,  and  will  awhile  uphold 

The  unyoked  humour  of  your  idleness : 

Yet  herein  will  I  imitate  the  sun, 

Who  doth  permit  the  base  contagious  clouds 

To  smother  up  his  beauty  from  the  world, 

That,  when  he  please  again  to  be  himself, 

Being  wanted,  he  may  be  more  wondered  at, 

By  breaking  through  the  foul  and  ugly  mists 

Of  vapours,  that  did  seem  to  strangle  him.  (Pt.  I,  I,  2.) 

Shakespeare's  Henry  really  does  not  love  Mildness 
and  horse-pla}^  though  out  of  policy  he  agrees  : 
"  once  in  my  days,  I'll  be  a  madcap."  This  explana- 
tion of  the  contrasts  in  Henry's  life,  this  rationalising 
of  the  old  traditions  of  his  wildness,  is  scarcely 
convincing.  Still  less  convincing  is  the  explanation 
which  in  the  first  act  of  King  Henry  the  Fifth  he 
is  made  to  give  to  the  French  ambassadors  : 

We  never  valued  this  poor  seat  of  England  ; 
And  therefore,  living  hence,  did  give  ourself 
To  barbarous  licence.      (I,  2.) 

Here  Shakespeare  was  inconsistent  with  himself. 
For  neither  the  Henry  of  Eastcheap  nor  the  Henry  of 
Agincourt  could  ever  have  talked  slightingly  of 
"  this  poor  seat  of  England." 

F 


66  HENRY  V  [i3«7-i4i3 

Clearly  the  difference  between  the  traditional  prince 
Henry  and  the  historic  king  Henry  struck  Shake- 
speare as  something  difficult  to  believe,  something 
which  required  explanation.  So  he  gave  the  two 
explanations  just  mentioned,  both  of  them  being 
completely  without  foundation  in  history.  Never- 
theless, the  contrast  was  necessary  to  the  dramatist  ; 
the  earlier  riotous  Henry  was  a  fine  dramatic  foil  to 
Hotspur,  who  is  the  second  great  figure  of  the  first 
part  of  King  Henry  the  Fourth.  Prince  Henry  is 
described  as  being  jealous  of  the  Percy,  whose  family 
had  played  such  an  important  part  in  setting  the 
Lancastrians  on  the  throne  : 

That  ever  this  fellow  should  have  fewer  words  than  a 
parrot,  and  yet  the  son  of  a  woman  !  His  industry  is — 
upstairs  and  downstairs  ;  his  eloquence — the  parcel  of  a 
reckoning.  I  am  not  yet  of  Percy's  mind,  the  Hotspur  of 
the  north  ;  he  that  kills  me  some  six  or  seven  dozen  of 
Scots  at  a  breakfast,  washes  his  hands,  and  says  to  his 
wife,  "  Fie  upon  this  quiet  life  !  I  want  work."  "  O  my 
sweet  Harry,"  says  she,  "  how  many  hast  thou  killed 
to-day  ?  "  "  Give  my  roan  horse  a  drench,"  says  he  ; 
and  answers,  "  Some  fourteen,"  an  hour  after, — "  a  trifle, 
a  trifle."  I  prithee,  call  in  Falstaff :  I'll  play  Percy,  and 
that  damned  brawn  shall  play  dame  Mortimer  his  wife. 
"  Rivo  !  "  says  the  drunkard.  Call  in  ribs,  call  in  tallow. 
{Henry  IV,  Pt.  I,  II,  4.) 

The  tavern-haunter  prince  Henry  and  the  great 
soldier  Hotspur  are  set  off  against  each  other,  and 
therefore  the  change  in  Henry's  character,  when  he 
becomes  the  grave  responsible  prince,  is  placed  by 


1387-1413]  THE  REAL  HENRY  67 

the  dramatist  at  the  battle  of  Shrewsbury,  when 
Hotspur  is  defeated  and  killed.  The  affairs  of  state 
had  grown  dangerous  when  the  Percies  revolted  and 
joined  the  rebels  of  Wales.  The  prince's  father, 
Henry  IV,  feeling  the  work  of  government  too  heavy, 
takes  young  Henry  to  task  for  his  misdeeds,  and 
rebukes  him  for  not  taking  up  the  duties  of  his 
position  : 

Thy  place  in  council  thou  hast  rudely  lost, 
Which  by  thy  younger  brother  is  supplied, 
And  art  almost  an  alien  to  the  hearts 
Of  all  the  court  and  princes  of  my  blood  .  .  . 

For  thou  hast  lost  thy  princely  privilege 

With  vile  participation  :    not  an  eye 

But  is  a- weary  of  thy  common  sight, 

Save  mine,  which  hath  desired  to  see  thee  more. 

To  this  the  prince  soberly  replies  : 

I  shall  hereafter,  my  thrice-gracious  lord, 
Be  more  myself  .  .  . 

I  will  redeem  all  this  on  Percy's  head 

And  in  the  closing  of  some  glorious  day, 

Be  bold  to  tell  you  that  I  am  your  son.  .  .  . 

And  that  shall  be  the  day,  wlicnc'er  it  lights. 
That  this  same  child  of  honour  and  renown, 
This  gallant  Hotspur,  this  all-praised  knight. 
And  your  unthought-of  Harry  chance  to  meet. 

(HI,  2.) 

As  the  great  trial  of  strength  approaches,  the  feelings 
of  prince  Henry  towards  Hotspur  are  something  far 


68  HENRY  V  [1387  M13 

nobler  than  jealousy,  they  are  feelings  of  honourable 
rivalry,  full  of  respect  for  a  worthy  foe. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  doth  join  with  all  the  world 
In  praise  of  Henry  Percy.  .  .  . 

I  do  not  think  a  braver  gentleman, 

More  active- valiant  or  more  valiant-young, 

More  daring  or  more  bold  is  now  alive 

To  grace  this  latter  age  with  noble  deeds. 

For  my  part,  I  may  speak  it  to  my  shame, 

I  have  a  truant  been  to  chivalry.  .  .  .    (V,  1.) 

They  meet  upon  the  field  of  Shrewsbury  : 

Hot.  If  I  mistake  not,  thou  art  Harry  Monmouth. 

Prince.  Thou  speak'st  as  if  I  would  deny  my  name. 

Hoi.        My  name  is  Harry  Percy. 

Prince.  Why,  then,  I  see 

A  very  valiant  rebel  of  the  name. 
I  am  the  Prince  of  Wales  ;  and  think  not,  Percy, 
To  share  with  me  in  gloiy  any  more  : 
Two  stars  keep  not  their  motion  in  one  sphere  ; 
Nor  can  one  England  brook  a  double  reign. 
Of  Harry  Percy  and  the  Prince  of  Wales.    (V.  4.) 

In  the  combat,  Hotspur  is  slain  :  "  O  Harry,  thou  hast 
robbed  me  of  my  youth  !  " — ^worse  still,  prince  Henry 
has  at  last  won  from  him  his  "  proud  titles."  So  the 
prince  takes  leave  of  him,  "  food  for  worms  " — 
"  fare  thee  well,  great  heart ! "  Thus  prince  Henry 
comes  to  his  own  at  last,  and  shows  his  true  spirit. 
When,  at  the  end  of  the  second  part  of  the  play,  he 
succeeds  to  the  throne,  he  carries  on  without  a 
change  the  administration  of  his  father  :  there  are  no 
executions,  no  paying  off  old  scores  : 


1387-1413]  THE  REAL  HENRY  69 

Not  Amurath  an  Amurath  succeeds,  * 

But  Harry  Harry.  (Pt.  II,  V.  2.) 

Thus  we  see  the  second  Henry  of  the  dramatist,  the 
grave,  responsible,  heroic  king. 

The  third  character  of  Henry  appears  only  at  the 
end  of  the  play  of  King  Henry  the  Fifth,  when  the 
king  in  tlie  character  of  a  bluff,  straightforward 
soldier,  unused  to  the  niceties  of  courts,  woos  the 
somewhat  surprised  princess  Katherine.  In  this 
scene  only,  the  king  talks  not  in  dignified  blank  verse, 
but  in  rough,  direct  prose  : 

Marry,  if  5'"ou  would  put  me  to  verses  or  to  dance  for 
your  sake,  Kate,  whj'-  you  undid  me  :  for  the  one,  I  have 
neither  words  nor  measure ;  and  for  the  other,  I  have  no 
strength  in  measure,  yet  a  reasonable  measure  in  strength. 
If  I  could  win  a  lady  at  leap-frog,  or  by  vaulting  into  my 
saddle  with  my  armour  on  my  back,  under  the  correction 
of  bragging  be  it  spoken,  I  should  quickly  leap  into  a 
wife.  Or  if  I  might  buffet  for  my  love,  or  bound  my  horse 
for  her  favours,  I  could  lay  on  like  a  butcher  and  sit 
like  a  jackanapes,  never  off.  But  before  God,  Kate,  I 
cannot  look  greenly  nor  gasp  out  my  eloquence,  nor  have  I 
no  cunning  in  protestation  ;  only  downright  oaths,  which 
I  never  use  till  urged,  nor  never  break  for  urging.  If 
thou  canst  love  a  fellow  of  this  temper,  Kate,  whose  face 
is  not  worth  sun-burning,  that  never  looks  in  his  glass  for 
love  of  anything  he  sees  there, — let  thine  eye  be  thy  cook. 
I  speak  to  thee  plain  soldier  :  if  thou  canst  love  me  for 
this,  take  me  ;  if  not,  to  say  to  thee  that  I  shall  die,  is 
true  ;  but  for  thy  love,  by  the  Lord,  no  ;  yet  I  love  thee 
too.    (V.  2.) 

The  bluff  soldier,  with  his  plain  language,  savouring 


70  HENRY  V  [1 387-141 3 

all  of  the  camp,  and  nothing  of  the  court,  is  made  all 
the  more  striking  when  set  off  against  the  delicate 
Katherine  with  her  mincing  French,  and  still  more 
mincing  attempts  at  English.  But  this  is  not  the 
true  Henry.  It  is  an  Elizabethan  version  of  the 
character  of  Henry  of  Navarre,  the  bluff  contemporary 
soldier-king  of  France.  Shakespeare  himself  has  to 
abandon  this  character  when  at  the  end  of  the  scene 
king  Henry  meets  his  father-in-law  and  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy  :  in  reply  to  Burgundy's  bantering  ques- 
tion :  "  teach  you  our  princess  English  ?  "  the  king 
gravely  replies  : 

I  would  have  her  learn,  my  fair  cousin,  how  perfectly  I 
love  her  ;   and  that  is  good  English. 

This  is  more  in  the  character  of  the  historic  Henry, 
and  is  more  in  agreement  with  the  description  of 
Henry's  first  meeting  with  the  princess  Katherine, 
as  described  in  Monstrelet.^ 

Of  the  three  Henries  of  Shakespeare,  the  bluff, 
honest,  uncultivated  soldier  has  to  be  discarded  ;  the 
statesman,  the  hero  king  of  Agincourt,  remains,  as 
described  in  Livius'  work,  the  authentic  biography. 
What  remains  in  history  of  the  first  Henry,  the 
brawler  of  Eastcheap  ? 

f  There  are  really  five  points  to  be  dealt  with  under 
this  question.  The  first  point  to  be  decided  is  this  ; 
is  the  prince  known  to  have  frequented  the  Boar's 
Head  tavern  in  Eastcheap,  or  any  such  place,  and  to 

1  See  below,  p.  221. 


13S7-1413]  THE  REAL  HENRY  71 

have  lain  in  wait  for  his  own  receivers,  or  otherwise 
to  have  played  the  highwayman  ?  The  second  point 
is  :  did  the  prince  associate  with  low  companions  ? 
The  third  :  had  he  any  spirit  of  rivalry  with  regard  to 
Hotspur  ?  The  fourth  :  was  he  ever  brought  up 
before  a  magistrate  ?  The  fifth  :  had  he  as  prince 
any  dissensions  with  his  father  ?  J 

So  far  as  strictly  contemporary  history  is  able  to 
testify,  none  of  these  points  can  be  absolutely  proved, 
except  the  last.  The  charges  contained  in  the  first 
four  points  are  not  known  to  be  true  ;  it  is  certain 
that  they  are  grossly  exaggerated,  but  it  is  almost 
equally  certain  that  there  is  some  truth,  though  not  a 
great  deal,  contained  in  them. 

/The  authorities  for  Henry's  career  as  prince  may  be 
traced  back  in  a  descending  series.  There  are  the 
Tudor  historians,  Stow,  Holinshed,  Hall  and  Fabyan, 
who  wrote  respectively  about  1580,  1578,  1542  and 

1512.  Of  the  Tudor  historians.  Stow  may  be  taken 
as  the  most  typical  and  most  erudite.  Finally, 
there  is  to  be  noticed  a  most  important  work,  The 
First  English  Life  of  King  Henry  the  Fifth,^  written  in 

1513,  partly  from  the  work  of  Livius,  partly  from  an 
account  or  notes  written  by  the  fourth  Earl  of 
Ormonde,  who  lived  from  1392  to  1452.  Lastly  come 
the  original  sources,  of  which  the  chief,  as  regards 
the  personal  history  of  Henry,  are  "  Elmham  "  and 


Livius.    \ 


Edited   from   the   Bodleian   M.S.   by  C.   L.   Kinp;sford   with   a 
valuable  and  full  Introduction. 


72  HENRY  V  [1387-1413 

The  "  Boar's  Head  "  in  Eastclieap  does  not  appear 
either  in  the  contemporary  annalists  of  Henry's  reign, 
nor  in  the  sixteenth-century  chroniclers.  For  such 
details  Shakespeare  was  indebted  to  another  play. 
The  Famous  Victories  of  Henry  the  Fifth,  com- 
posed about  1588.  But  Stow  asserts  the  wildness  of 
the  prince,  and  tells  the  story,  somewhat  differently 
from  Shakespeare,  about  the  playing  at  highwaymen. 
The  prince,  says  Stow  : 

Lived  somewhat  insolently,  inasmuch  that  while  his 
father  lived,  being  accompanied  with  some  of  his  young 
lords  and  gentlemen,  he  would  wait  in  disguised  array  for 
his  own  receivers  and  distress  them  of  their  money,  and 
sometimes  at  such  enterprises  both  he  and  his  companions 
were  surely  beaten,  and  when  his  receivers  made  to  him 
their  complaints  how  they  were  robbed  in  their  coming 
to  him,  he  would  give  them  their  discharge  of  so  much 
money  as  they  had  lost,  and  besides  that  they  should  not 
depart  from  him  without  great  rewards  for  their  trouble 
and  vexation,  especially  they  should  be  rewarded  that 
best  had  resisted  him  and  his  companj^  and  of  whom  he 
had  received  the  greatest  and  most  strokes.  ^ 

It  will  be  noticed  that  although  the  details  of  the 
story  differ  from  Shakespeare's  {Henry  IV,  Pt.  I, 
Act  II,  Sc.  2)  in  important  respects,  yet  both  Stow 
and  Shakespeare  convey  exactly  the  same  impression 
of  prince  Henry's  character.  They  differ,  however, 
in  point  of  time.  Stow  refers  to  the  years  1410- 
1412  ;  Shakespeare  places  his  scenes  in  l403,  when 
Henry  was  not  sixteen  years  old. 

1  stow,  Annals,  342. 


1387-14x3]  THE  REAL  HENRY  73 

Stow's  version,  written  about  1580,  agrees  almost 
word  for  word  with  the  account  in  the  First  English 
Life  of  1513.  In  fact,  the  later  version  is  simply  a 
transcript  of  the  earlier.  ^  But  the  English  Life  goes 
further  and  states  that  the  story  rests  on  the  "  cre- 
dence before  rehearsed,"  as  well  as  on  common  fame. 
The  credence  referred  to  is  the  Earl  of  Ormonde. ^  The 
only  other  contemporary  evidence  of  the  "  hurling  in 
Eastcheap  "  and  the  practical  jokes  is  the  Chronicle 
of  I^ondon.^  The  story  refers  only  to  the  princes 
Thomas  and  John.  Here  we  are  told  that  in  1410 
there  was  a  riot  in  Eastcheap  between  the  men  of 
London  and  the  king's  sons,  Thomas  and  John. 

This,  then,  is  all  that  is  left  of  the  pranks  of  prince 
Henry.  Contemporaries  told  about  his  brothers 
behaving  like  mohawks  in  the  streets  ;  a  later  age 
fathered  the  pranks  upon  prince  Henry.  But  it  is  not 
impossible  that  Henry  may  have  taken  part  in  the 
hurling :  indeed,  from  the  evidence  of  the  First 
English  Life,  it  may  be  taken  for  granted. 

The  second  point — whether  the  prince  Henrj" 
consorted  with  low  companions,  is  more  dubious. 
Shakespeare's  characters,  Falstaff  and  Bardolf,  must 
be  discarded  by  history.  There  were,  indeed,  men 
with  such  names,  but  they  were  of  quite  different 
characters  to  Shakespeare's  men.  The  historic 
Falstaff  was  neither,  as  in  Shakespeare,  an  old  man — 

1  First  English  Life,  17. 

^  English  Hist,  Literature  oj  Fifteenth  Century,  C.  L.  Kmgsford, 
66. 

*  A  Chronicle  o'  London  (Ed.  N.  H.  Nicolas),  93.     See  below. 


74  HENRY  V  [1387-1413 

"  that  he  is  old,  the  more  the  pity,  his  white  hairs  do 
witness  it," — nor  a  vainglorious  tavern-hunter.  Sir 
John  Fastolf  was  a  Norfolk  squire,  who  lived  between 
the  years  1378  and  1459.  He  fought  well  in  the 
French  Wars,  being  in  command  of  the  English 
convoy  which  fought  a  brilliant  action  in  1429, 
known  as  Rouvray,  or  the  battle  of  the  Herrings.  It  is 
true  that  at  the  battle  of  Patay,  later  in  the  same  year, 
he  was  suspected  of  cowardice  by  some  people,  but 
subsequent  history  has  entirely  exonerated  him,^  and 
the  rest  of  his  career  shows  that  this  exoneration  was 
correct.  He  was  never  a  spendthrift,  never  likely 
to  be  in  debt,  but,  on  the  contrary,  was  a  wealthy 
and  almost  miserly  old  country  gentleman,  as  may 
be  gathered  from  the  numerous  details  about  him 
in  the  Paston  Letters.'^ 

The  truth  is  that  in  the  original  play  ^  which 
inspired  Shakespeare's  version,  the  companion  of 
prince  Henry  is  made  to  be  not  Falstaff,  but  Sir 
John  Oldcastle.  In  this  there  is  much  truth,  as  it  is 
certain  that  Oldcastle,  before  his  Lollardy  led  him 
to  extremes,  was  a  friend  and  associate  of  the  prince. 
But  Oldcastle  was  never  wild  and  immoral  ;  in  his 
whole  career  there  is  something  of  the  saint,  just  as 
in  his  death  there  is  something  of  the  martyr.     The 


^  Cp.  Oman,  Political  History  of  England,  309. 

*  Another  Sir  John  Fastolf  "  of  TSTacton  "  has  been  discovered 
by  Mr.  L.  W.  V.  Harconrt.  Tliis  Fastolf  was  committed  for  con- 
tempt of  court  in  1403.  Kingsford's  First  English  Life,  Intro- 
duction, xli. 

^  The  Famous  Victories  of  Henry  V. 


1387-1413]  THE  REAL  HENRY  T5 

name  of  Oldcastle  clearly  did  not  suit  the  character 
given  him  in  the  play,  especially  in  the  strongly 
Protestant  times  towards  the  end  of  Qneen  Elizabeth's 
reign.  It  was  accordingly  changed  by  Shakespeare  to 
Falstaff,  although  prince  Henry  (Pt.  I,  Act  I,  Sc.  2) 
still  addresses  him  as  "  my  old  lad  of  the  castle." 
Why  Shakespeare  adopted  the  name  of  Falstaff  it  is 
impossible  to  say.  He  found  it  in  a  history  book, 
and  thought  it  suitable  for  his  purpose,  just  as  Scott, 
in  looking  through  the  chronicles  of  England,  was 
struck  with  the  name  of  the  Annals  of  Waverley,  the 
old  Benedictine  abbey  of  Peter  des  Roches.  Sir 
John  Fastolf  is  not  known  to  have  been  an  intimate 
friend  of  Henry,  although  it  is  known  that  the  king 
admired  him  as  a  soldier,  and  gave  him  a  good 
command.  Whether  a  companion  of  Henry  or  not, 
Fastolf  was  upright  and  respectable.  As  for  Old- 
castle, Shakespeare  himself  confesses,  in  referring  to 
Falstaff  in  the  Epilogue  to  King  Henry  the  Fourth 
(Pt.  II)  that  "  Oldcastle  died  a  martyr,  and  this  is 
not  the  man." 

The  Bardolf  described  by  Shakespeare  is  equally 
mythical.  "  For  Bardolf,  he  is  white-livered  and 
red-faced  ;  by  the  means  whereof  a'  faces  it  out,  but 
fights  not."  ^  He  finally  comes  under  the  strict  rule 
of  Henry's  discipline  and  is  hanged  for  stealing  silver 
out  of  a  church,  on  the  march  to  Agincourt.  There  is 
no  such  person  known  to  history.  There  was,  indeed, 
a  Sir  William  Bardolf,  an  officer  of  good  reputation, 

*  King  Henry  tlie  Fifth,  Act  III,  Sc.  2. 

Ji 


76  HENRY  V  [1387-1413 

who  became  captain  of  the  Castle  of  Calais  in  1410.^ 
Clearly  like  Oldcastle  or  Fastolf,  "  this  is  not  the 
man."  2  No  other  boon  companions  of  prince  Henry 
can  be  traced. 

The  tliird  and  fourth  points  are  equally  dubious. 
There  is  never  any  indication  of  rivalry  between 
Prince  Henry  and  Hotspur,  nor  is  there  any  record  of 
the  prince  having  been  brought  before  the  magistrate. 
There  was.  indeed,  no  chance  for  such  rivalry  during 
Hotspur's  life,  as  at  the  latter's  death  in  1403,  Henrj' 
was  just  sixteen,  and  had  not  yet  begun  to  take  a 
leading  part  in  the  Welsh  war.  Between  1400  and 
1403  the  prince  had  been  learning  the  art  of  war  in 
Wales,  and  Hotspur  had  been  associated  with  him, 
probably  as  a  sort  of  military  adviser.  Each  sent 
information  to  the  Privy  Council,  but  there  is  no 
trace  of  dissension  between  them.^  Even  after 
Hotspur's  death,  prince  Henry  cannot  be  said  to  have 
aspired  to  play  a  leading  part  in  the  Welsh  War. 
It  is  not  till  about  1406  that  the  prince  becomes  really 
prominent.  At  the  battle  of  Shrewsbury  prince 
Henry  is  specifically  noticed  by  the  contemporary 
chroniclers,  and  if  he  had  personally  encountered  and 
killed  Hotspur,  they  would  certainly  have  said  so. 

^  Proc.  of  Privy  Council,  II,  353. 

2  The  other  Bardolf,  Thomas,  was  a  turbulent  baron,  who 
conspired  with  the  Earl  of  Northumberland,  and  died  of  wounds 
received  in  fighting  against  the  king's  forces  at  Bramham  Moor  in 
1408. 

^  See  Trans,  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society,  New  Series,  III,  72. 
"  The  Story  of  Prince  Henry  of  Monmouth  and  Chief  Justice 
Gascoigne,"  by  F.  Solly-Flood. 


1387-1413]  THE  REAL  HENRY  77 

There  are  two  more  questions  still  to  be  considered. 
One  is  :  was  prince  Henry  ever  brought  before  a 
magistrate,  as  Shakespeare  describes  in  King  Henry 
the  Fourth,  second  part  (Act  V,  Sc.  2)  ? 

You  did  commit  me  : 
For  which  I  do  commit  into  your  hand 
The  unstained  sword  that  you  have  used  to  bear. 

The  second  and  last  question  remaining,  is  to  con- 
sider whether  prince  Henry  had  dissensions  with  his 
father. 

The  first  of  these  two  questions  has  been  one  of  the 
favourite  controversies  of  history  ;  the  balance  of 
modern  historical  opinion  is  definitely  against  it.^ 
The  story  rests  upon  two  foundations  :  one  is  Sir 
Thomas  Elyot's  Boke  named  the  Gouvernour,  first 
published  in  1531.     Elyot  says  : 

The  moste  renomed  prince,  kynge  Henry  the  fifte,  late 
kynge  of  Englande,  during  the  life  of  his  father  was  noted 
to  be  fierie  and  of  wanton  courage.  It  hapned  that  one 
of  his  servantes  whom  he  well  favoured,  for  felony  by  hym 
committed,  was  arrayned  at  the  kynges  benche  ;  whereof 
he  being  advertised,  and  incensed  by  light  persones, 
aboute  hym,  in  furious  rage  came  hastily  to  the  barre, 
where  his  servant  stode  as  a  prisoner,  and  commaunded 
him  to  be  ungyved  and  sette  at  libertie,  where  at  all  men 
were  abasshed,  reserved  the  chief e  justice,  who  humbly 
exhorted  the  prince  to  be  contented  that  his  servant 
might  be  ordred  accordyng  to  the  auncient  lawes  of  this 

^  Cp.  Stubbs,  Constitutional  History,  III,  79.  Diet,  of  Nat.  Biog,, 
XXVT,  46  (article  by  C.  L.  Kingsford)  ;  Solly-Flood,  Trans,  of 
Royal  Hisi.  Soc,  New  Herir;;,  III,  i7-l52;  C  L.  Kingsford,  i'J>ujlii;h 
Historical  Literature  in  the  XV th  Century,  263. 


78  HENRY  V  [1387-1413 

realme.  .  .  .  With  which  answere  the  prince  nothynge 
appeased,  but  rather  more  inflamed,  endevored  hym 
selfc  to  take  away  his  servant.  The  juge  consideringe  the 
perilous  example  and  inconvenience  that  mought  thereby 
ensue,  with  a  valiant  spirit  and  courage  commaunded  the 
prince  upon  his  alegeance  to  leve  the  prisoner  and  depart 
his  way.  With  which  commandment  the  prince,  being 
set  in  all  fury,  all  chafed  and  in  a  terrible  maner,  came  up 
to  the  place  of  jugment,  men  thinkyng  that  he  wolde 
have  slayne  the  juge,  or  have  done  hym  some  damage. 
But  the  juge,  sitting  styll,  without  moving,  declarying 
the  majestic  of  the  kynges  place  of  jugement,  and  with 
an  assured  and  bolde  countenance,  hadde  to  the  prince 
these  words  f olowyng :  Sir,  remembre  yourself :  I  kepe 
here  the  place  of  the  king,  your  soveraigne  lorde  and 
father.  .  .  .  And  now  for  your  contempt  and  disobedience, 
go  you  to  the  prisone  of  the  kynges  benche,  where  unto  I 
commit  you.  .  .  .  With  which  wordes  beinge  abasshed, 
and  also  wondering  at  the  marvailous  gravitie  of  the 
worshipful  Justice,  the  noble  prince,  laying  his  weapon 
aparte,  doinge  reverence,  departed  and  went  to  the 
kynges  benche  as  he  was  commanded.^ 

The  sstory  was  repeated  by  Robert  Redmayne,  in 
his  life  of  Henry  V,  written  about  1540.-  Since  then 
it  has  had  considerable  currency.  Such  is  the  first 
foundation  for  the  story.  The  second  is  an  entry  in 
a  chronicle  of  Coventry,  to  the  effect  that  John 
Hornsby,  Maj'or,  arrested  the  i)rince  in  the  priory 
of  Coventry  in  1412.^ 

It  is  clear  that  this  last  record,  which  is,  of  course, 

^  The  Boke  named  the  Gouvernour,  II,  chap.  VI.  See  the  edition 
of  H.  H.  S.  Croft,  vol.  II,  Gl-72. 

-  Memorials,  11.  ^  Solly-Flood,  op.  cit.,  51. 


1387-1413]  THE  REAL  HENRY  79 

totally  different  from  Elyot's  story,  is  the  only  one 
which  can  pretend  to  be  contemporary  evidence.  But 
even  this  must  be  abandoned.  The  remarkable  event 
of  the  imprisonment  of  the  prince  at  Coventry,  is 
not  mentioned  nor  hinted  at  in  any  other  con- 
temporary document,  nor  noticed  even  by  the 
sixteenth -century  historians.  The  chronicle  of 
Coventry  itself  has  to  give  up  the  pretence  of  being 
contemporary.  It  was  almost  certainly  composed 
in  the  last  twenty-five  years  of  the  seventeenth 
century.^ 

What,  then,  remains  of  Sir  Thomas  Elyot's  story  ? 
Little  or  nothing.  It  has  very  little  internal  prob- 
ability ;  it  has  no  shred  of  contemporary  evidence, 
in  story  or  document.  The  case  against  it  cannot  be 
better  put  than  in  the  words  of  the  learned  lawyer 
who  has  sifted  the  case  :  "no  instance  whatever  has 
yet  been  found  in  any  of  those  rolls  ^  or  in  the  year- 
books of  any  committal  in  penam  by  the  Court  of 
King's  Bench  in  a  summary  manner."  It  is  just 
possible  that  a  commitment  of  the  prince  might 
take  place  without  an  entry  in  the  rolls  ;  this  con- 
sideration is  the  last  defence  of  the  story.  Therefore 
it  cannot  be  disproved,  but  no  one  need  believe  it. 

The  story  of  prince  Henry's  commitment  may 
have  risen  in  two  ways :  in  the  first  place,  it  is  stated 
in  an  authentic  fifteenth-century  chronicle  that  on 
23  June,  the  eve  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  there  was 

i  Ibid.,  51,  52. 

*  i.e.  Rotuli  coram  regc,  etc.,  ibid.,  147-8. 


80  HENRY  V  [1387-1413 

great  debate  in  Eastcheap  between  the  men  of  the 
lords  Thomas  and  John  and  the  men  of  London.  ^  It  is 
quite  Hkely  that  some  magistrate  interfered  to  quell 
this  tumult,  which  as  Stow  says,  actually  happened. ^ 
The  interference  of  a  magistrate  against  the  king's 
sons  might  be  the  small  germ  from  which  the  story 
of  prince  Henry  and  Chief  Justice  Gascoigne  grew  up. 
The  sequel  to  the  story,  as  Shakespeare  gives  it, 
namely,  that  on  succeeding  to  the  throne  Henry  V, 
out  of  admiration  for  the  upright  judge,  continued 
him  in  office,  is  quite  untrue.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
king  Henry  dismissed  him.^ 

The  second  way  in  which  the  story  might  have 
arisen  is  that  prince  Edward,  the  unruly  son  of 
Edward  I,  and  afterwards  himself  king  of  England, 
was  actually  punished  by  his  father  for  using  con- 
temptuous language  towards  a  minister  of  the  king. 
On  comparison,  the  authentic  story  of  prince  Edward 
has  striking  points  of  resemblance  with  the  story  of 
prince  Henry,  as  related  by  Sir  Thomas  Elyot.^  The 
sixteenth-century  version  may  thus  have  arisen  from 
the  confusion  of  certain  stories  about  the  princes 
Henry  and  Thomas,  sons  of  Henry  IV,  and  prince 
Edward,  son  of  Edward  I.^ 

Thus,  from  many  points  of  view,  the  accuracy  of 

^  A  Chronicle  of  Londoti  (ed.  Nicolas),  'J3.    Stow,  Annals,  338. 
^  Stow,  op.  cit.,  338. 
^  See  below,  p.  8U. 

*  See  Solly- Flood,  op.  cit.,  151,  for  a  detailed  comparison. 

*  See  also  the  detailed  criticism  by  H.  H.  S.  Croft,  in  his  edition 
of  the  Governour,  II,  00-71.  Mr.  Croft  sums  up  the  story  as  a 
"  peculiarly  interesting  specimen  of  monastic  legend." 


1387-1413]  THE  REAL  HENRY  81 

Shakespeare's  description  of  Henry's  life  as  prince  of 
Wales  is  very  questionable.  Indeed,  much  of  what 
Shakespeare  says  has  to  be  given  up  altogether. 
What,  then,  remains  ?  Three  truths  remain.  Firstly, 
Henry's  character,  when  he  was  prince  of  Wales,  was 
not  altogether  above  reproach.  Secondly,  it  is  true, 
that  he  had  dissension  with  his  father.  Thirdly, 
the  historic  fact  remains,  that  a  noticeable  change  in 
conduct,  a  real  and  permanent  turning  over  of  a 
"  new  leaf,"  took  place  on  his  accession  to  the  throne. 
That  his  character  as  prince  was  not  wholly  good  is 
proved  by  specific  statements  of  contemporary 
writers.  "  Elmham"  says  :  "  He  fervently  followed  the 
service  of  Venus  as  well  as  of  Mars,  as  a  young  man 
might  he  burned  with  her  torches,  and  other  inso- 
lences accompanied  the  years  of  his  untamed  youth."  ^ 
Livius  says,  "  he  exercised  meanly  the  feats  of  Venus 
and  Mars  and  other  pastimes  of  youth  for  so  long  as 
the  king  his  father  lived."  ^  The  charges  go  no 
further  :  they  are  purely  general,  and  may  mean  very 
little.  "Elmham"  admits  that  most  of  the  prince's 
time  was  spent  in  "  the  honourable  deeds  of  military 
service."  ^  But  it  would  appear  that  in  the  vacations 
from  camp-life,  which  he  spent  in  London,  some  of 
his  companions  were  not  men  of  whom  the  king  his 
father  would  approve.  No  exception  can  be  taken 
to  Bishop  Henry  Beaufort,  or  to  the  Earl  of  Arundel, 

*  "Elmham,"  Vita  et  gesta  Henrici  Quinti,  13. 

*  First    English    Life,    17.      Livius,    Vita    Henrici    Quinti    (ed. 
Heeune),  4,  5. 

5  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  13. 
G 


82  HENRY  V  [1387-1413 

himself  a  friend  of  Henry  IV.  There  was  no  dis- 
reputable Falstaff  but  there  were  some  companions 
whom  Henry,  when  he  did  become  king,  put  away. 
This  story  can  be  traced  as  far  back  as  the  year  1479. 
All  his  household,  it  is  said,  but  four,  urged  him  as 
prince  beyond  the  bounds  of  decorum.  When  he 
became  king  those  less  desirable  members  of  his 
household  came  to  him  "  winking  and  smiling," 
expecting  great  rewards.  But  Henry  only  "  kept  his 
countenance  sadly,"  and  dismissed  them, — with 
liberal  presents,  however.  The  four  who  had  frowned 
on  his  youthful  follies  found  themselves  treated  with 
all  honour  and  affection.^ 

Clearly  little  that  is  definite  can  be  said  against  the 
prince,  but  he  was  not  wholly  above  reproach.  The 
second  fact,  however,  that  he  had  dissension  with  his 
father,  is  specifically  known.  The  cause  of  this 
dissension  was  that  the  prince  had  views  on  foreign 
policy  which  the  king  his  father  did  not  share. 
When,  in  1411,  the  prince  on  his  own  authority  sent 
off  a  military  expedition  to  aid  the  Burgundians  in 
France,  he  laid  himself  open  to  a  well-deserved 
rebuke  from  the  king.  The  poet  Hardyng  says  that 
the  prince  was  discharged  from  the  council  by  his 
father.  2  Henry  was  thus  publicly  disgraced,  and  his 
father  showed  himself  fully  determined  to  keep  the 
reins  of  government  in  his  own  hands.     The  mis- 

*  This  is  from  a  passage  given  by  C.  L.  Kingsford,  First  English 
Life,  xxxi,  from  an  unpublished  Lambeth  iMS.  of  the  Brut. 
^  Hardyng,  Chronicle,  369  ;    above,  p.  54. 


1387-1413]  THE  REAL  HENRY  88 

understanding  with  his  father  troubled  the  prince. 
His  position  in  the  country  suffered.  He  had  been 
suspected  even  of  misspending  some  of  the  money  of 
Calais,  but  from  this  charge  he  easily  cleared  himself  * 
The  misunderstanding  was  removed  by  the  prince 
throwing  himself  humbly  before  his  father,  in 
what  became  afterwards  a  famous  scene.  ^  The 
king,  it  is  said,  suspected  the  prince  of  wishing  to 
usurp  the  crown,  "  he  being  alive."  Further,  the 
prince  was  popular  and  well-attended  by  people  : 
"  his  court  was  at  all  times  more  abundant  than  the 
king's,  his  father's."  So  the  prince  appeared  before 
his  father  in  that  quaint  disguise,  in  a  gown  of  satin 
or  damask  "  wrought  full  of  eylet-holes  and  at  every 
eylet,  the  needle  wherewith  it  was  made,  hanging 
still  by  the  silk."  ^  The  First  English  Life  says  that 
in  addition  to  this  quaint  "  disguise,"  he  wore  on  his 
arm  "  a  dog's  collar  set  full  of  SS  of  gold  and  the 
teretts  of  the  same  also  of  fine  gold."  *  To  show  that 
he  had  no  intention  of  rivalling  the  state  of  his  father, 
the  prince  would  not  allow  his  gentlemen  to  advance 
beyond  the  fire  in  Westminster  Hall.^  The  result 
was  a  complete  reconciliation  between  father  and 
son.* 

It  is  true,  then,  there  had  been  a  certain  amount  of 
friction  between  Henry  IV  and  the  prince.  This  being 
magnified  appears  again  in  Shakespeare  (Henry  the 

*  Proc.  of  the  Privy  Council,  II,  pp.  34-6. 

*  First  English  Life,  11.     Stow,  op.  cit.,  339. 

'  Stow,  op.  cit.,  ibid.  •  First  Eng.  Life,  11,  13. 

*  Stow,  op.  cit.,  340.  *  See  above,  50. 


84  HENRY  V  [1387-1413 

Fourth,  PL  II,  Act  IV,  Sc.  5)  in  the  famous  "  Crown  " 
scene.  Here  the  historical  authority  is  the  French 
chronicler  Monstrelet.^  But  in  this  its  original  form, 
the  story  is  full  of  discrepancies.  As  Monstrelet  gives 
it,  the  fatal  illness  of  the  king  happened  towards  the 
end  of  the  year  1412  (by  modern  reckoning  it  was 
20  March,  1413).  While  he  lay  ill,  the  crown  "as  is 
accustomed  to  be  done  in  that  country,"  was  lying  on  a 
couch  near  by.  The  guard,  thinking  the  king  was  dead, 
called  his  son  Henry,  who  came  and  carried  off  the 
crown.  Then  the  king  heaved  a  sigh,  came  to  conscious- 
ness, and  noticed  that  the  crown  was  missing.  On 
learning  that  it  was  with  the  prince,  the  king  sum- 
moned him,  and  said :  "  Good  son,  how  could  you 
have  right  to  it,  as  I  never  had  any.?  "  To  which  the 
prince  replied,  that  as  his  father  had  gained  it  by 
the  sword,  he  too  would  defend  it  with  his  life. 

The  details  of  the  story  are  very  vague,  and  look 
like  hearsay.  2  They  appear  next  in  Waurin,  who 
merely  copied  Monstrelet.  The  fifteenth-century 
English  chroniclers  say  nothing  about  such  an 
episode.  Hardyng,  in  his  last  "  chapter  "  relating  to 
Henry  IV,  distinctly  says  that  the  king  showed  no 
signs  of  remorse  for  having  seized  the  throne  from 
Richard  II.  It  is  not  till  the  appearance  of  the 
Elizabethan  chronicler  Hall  ^  that  the  story  gained 
currency  in  English  history. 

^  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  CI,  155. 

*  Waurin.  op.  cit.,  166-7. 

»  Hall,  Chronicle  (ed.  1809),  45. 


1387-1413]  THE  REAL  HENRY  85 

So  we  may  leave  the  period  of  prince  Henry's 
youth  :  an  active  period,  spent  mainly  in  the  camp 
and  at  the  council -table,  but  not  without  blemish. 
The  change  in  his  character  so  universally  observed  at 
his  accession,  cannot  be  a  figment.  Chroniclers  might 
exaggerate  the  ill  reports  of  his  early  days,  so  as  to 
make  more  dramatic  the  change  that  took  place  in  him 
as  king.  But  the  change  itself  cannot  have  been 
invented.  "  Elmham  "  may  exaggerate  when  he  says 
that  what  took  place  was  a  "  sudden  conversion  of 
darkness  into  light,  of  cloud  into  clear  air."  ^  But 
the  staid  Walsingham  is  to  be  trusted  when  he  says 
that  the  prince,  becoming  king,  "  was  suddenly 
changed  into  another  man,  careful  for  honour, 
modesty  and  gravity."  The  First  English  Life  gives 
in  order  his  qualities  as  king  :  justice,  continence, 
humility,  adding  that  from  the  time  of  the  death  of  his 
father,  his  virtue  was  never  doubted. ^ 

1  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  13. 
"  First  English  Life,  5. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE  ACCESSION  OF  HENRY  V 

On  21  March,  Tuesday,  the  feast  of  St.  Benedict, 
1413,  the  reign  of  Henry  V  began.  His  father  had 
died  on  the  20th  ;  the  new  king's  reign  was  dated 
from  the  next  day,  on  which  his  "  peace  "  was  pro- 
claimed.^ 

Henry  V  was  at  this  time  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
five  years  of  age.  He  is  described  as  tall  in  stature, 
slender,  but  with  well-formed  limbs,  strong-boned, 
and  nervous.  His  head  from  the  brow  downwards 
was  long  and  beautifully  moulded  ;  the  upper  portion 
of  his  head  was  round,  with  a  high,  smooth  brow, 
showing  a  strong  and  wholesome  mind.  His  hair  was 
dark  brown,  thick  and  uncurled  ;  his  nose  straight, 
suiting  well  the  long  face.  In  complexion  he  was 
ruddy,  his  eyes  clear  and  bright,  with  a  reddish  tint, 
mild  like  a  dove's  in  repose,  but  lion-like  when  he  was 
angry.  He  had  even,  firm  teeth,  white  as  snow,  and 
small,  shapely  ears.  His  chin  was  cleft,  his  neck 
moderately  thick,  his  skin  white.  The  lower  part  of 
his  face  and  his  throat  were  narrow,  with  firm  and 
clean  flesh,  white  in  colour,  though  rosy  here  and 

*  Nicolas,  Chronology  of  Hiatory,  303. 
86 


I4I3]         THE  ACCESSION  OF  HENRY  V  87 

there  ;  the  lips  were  bright  red.  His  general  aspect 
was  both  amiable  and  dignified.* 

He  had  every  quality  that  made  for  popularity  in 
a  prince.  It  is  agreed  that  in  "  strength  and  nimble- 
ness  of  body "  there  were  few  people  who  could 
compare  with  him.  It  was  not  merely  that  he  was 
a  great  soldier.  As  an  athlete  also,  he  excelled  in 
leaping  and  running.  He  could  throw  great  iron 
bars  and  heavy  stones.  He  was  a  good  huntsman, 
and  it  is  specially  remembered  how  he  shot  a  great 
stag  with  an  arrow  and  presented  it  to  the  monks 
of  Westminster. 2  "  Elmham  "  says  that  he  could 
start  a  deer  from  a  thicket  and  run  it  to  death. ^ 
When  on  campaign  he  showed  the  greatest  endurance, 
bearing  cold  or  heat  with  the  same  equanimity.  In 
the  thick  of  a  fight  his  custom  was  to  have  his  head 
bare  ;  otherwise  he  bore  his  suit  of  heavy  armour 
as  it  were  "  a  light  cloak."  He  had  an  indomitable 
will,  and  was  never  known  to  flinch  at  a  wound,  or 
to  turn  his  eyes  from  smoke  or  dust  in  battle. 

As  king,  Henry  in  his  personal  habits  bore  the 
best  of  names.  In  eating  and  drinking  he  was 
moderate,*  but  not  delicate,  taking  like  a  soldier  what 
food  was  set  before  him.  He  was  gentle  and  accessible 
to  his  subjects,  and  at  meal-times  it  is  said  that  any 
honest  person  could  come  to  him  to  declare  his  mind. 

'  Memorials  of  Henry  F  ("  Versus  Rhythmici  "),  65-6. 

*  Ibid.,  71. 

3  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  12-13. 

*  Henry  ate  nothing  at  his  Coronation  banquet  on  9  April. 
Wylie,  The  Reign  of  Henry  the  Fifth,  I,  7. 


88  HENRY  V  [1413 

Like  the  best  medieval  kings,  he  was  a  practical 
judge,  who  willingly  listened  to  men's  cases,  and 
then  either  decided  them  on  the  spot,  or  referred 
them  for  further  consideration  to  his  councillors.  He 
took  very  little  sleep,  but  what  he  had  was  sound,  so 
that  in  camp  at  nights  the  singing  of  the  soldiers  and 
minstrels  troubled  him  not  the  least,  but  seemed  to 
make  him  sleep  the  sounder.  He  was  without 
wantonness  or  avarice,  being  free  and  bountiful  in 
giving  to  all  men  for  their  deserts,  and  saying  that  he 
desired  money  not  to  have  but  to  give  and  to  spend. 
Both  in  mind  and  in  countenance  he  was  staid,  not 
elated  in  the  hour  of  victory,  nor  cast  down  when 
misfortune  came.^ 

Such  was  the  prince  whom  all  England  from  his 
accession  has  delighted  to  honour.  While  king,  his 
private  life  was  above  reproach,  and  in  his  public 
life,  if  he  made  mistakes,  he  was  always  honourable. 
Evidently  the  greatness  of  his  task  and  position, 
the  magnitude  of  his  office  as  king,  struck  him 
with  great  seriousness  on  the  death  of  his  father. 
It  is  said  that  on  that  very  night  he  went  to  a  recluse 
in  the  church  of  Westminster,  confessed  his  sins,  and 
resolved  to  atone  for  the  past.^  He  had  a  new  leaf 
to  turn  over  and  this  he  did  firmly  without  ever  look- 
ing back,  to  become  one  of  the  best  and  most  lovable 
characters  in  English  history. 

The  accession  of  the  new  king  was  accompanied  by 

*  Holinshed,  Chroniclea,  III,  583. 
'  "  Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  16, 


I4I31         THE  ACCESSION  OF  HENRY  V  89 

a  change  of  ministry.  His  uncle,  Henry  Beaufort, 
Bishop  of  Winchester,  became  Chancellor  in  place  of 
Thomas  Arundel,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  But 
the  Archbishop's  nephew,  Thomas,  fifth  Earl  of 
Arundel,  became  Treasurer  of  the  kingdom.  Another 
change  that  has  been  noted  is  the  appointment  of  Sir 
William  Hankeford  as  Chief  Justice  in  place  of  Sir 
William  Gascoigne.  Gascoigne  was  the  judge  with 
whom  Henry  as  prince  of  Wales  had  had  some  kind 
of  quarrel,  which  resulted  in  the  old  king  excluding 
the  prince  for  a  time  from  his  council  and  court. ^ 
At  the  accession  of  Henry  V,  Gascoigne  was  sixty- 
three  years  old.  It  was  the  rule  in  England  that  at 
the  death  of  a  king,  all  existing  appointments  of 
officials  came  to  an  end,  and  new  appointments  either 
of  the  previous  officials  or  others,  were  then  made  by 
letters  patent  by  the  new  king.^ 

The  coronation  took  place  on  9  April,  amid  a  regular 
storm  of  snow.  This  was  variously  interpreted  as  an 
omen,  some  thinking  that  it  portended  a  severe  and 
rigid  rule,  others  remembering  that  a  storm  is  often 
followed  immediately  by  serene  and  pleasant  times.  ^ 
The  coronation  was  followed  by  a  session  of  parlia- 
ment, which  met  on  15  May,  the  last  parliament  of 
Henry  IV  thus  becoming,  without  a  general  election, 
the  first  parliament  of  Henry  V. 


^  Memorials  of  Henry  F,  11,  above. 

^  Gascoigne   in    retirement   was   given    occasional  honourable 
commissions  by  Henry  V.     Wylie,  op.  cit.,  17-18. 
»  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  290. 


90  HENRY  V  [1413 

In  this  session  began  that  harmony  between  king 
and  parhament,  which  has  made  Henry  V  notable  as 
the  first  monarch  in  Enghsh  history  who  throughout 
his  reign  was  untroubled  by  any  dissensions  in  the 
national  councils.  The  Chancellor  asked  that  a 
proper  provision  should  be  made  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  royal  household  and  government. 
Handsome  revenues  were  voted,  and  £10,000  was 
specially  appropriated  to  the  king's  household, — 
an  early  instance  of  the  granting  of  a  civil  list  to  the 
king.  Henry,  on  his  part,  without  any  difficulty, 
accepted  the  Speaker  whom  the  commons  chose  and 
presented  to  him.  He  received  the  complaints  which 
the  lords  and  commons  made  of  the  lack  of  govern- 
ment which  always  troubled  his  father's  rule  ;  this 
complaint  referred  especially  to  the  conditions  of 
defence  and  on  the  Scottish  March,  in  Calais,  Guienne, 
Ireland,  and  on  the  sea.  Henry  took  the  complaint  in 
good  part,  and  asked  the  estates  to  write  it  down 
for  his  consideration.  The  rest  of  the  proceedings 
in  parliament  showed  the  same  complete  agreement. 
At  the  end  Henry  granted  a  pardon  with  a  few  excep- 
tions to  all  his  lieges  in  prison.  The  release  of  one 
particular  nobleman  showed  both  the  magnanimity 
of  the  king  and  the  confidence  he  had  in  his  dynasty. 
Edmund  Mortimer,  Earl  of  March,  was  the  grandson 
of  Philippa,  daughter  of  Lionel,  second  son  of  Edward 
III.  He  thus  belonged  to  a  branch  of  the  royal 
family  which,  descending  through  a  female,  was 
older   than    the    Lancastrian    dynasty    itself,    which 


141 3]         THE  ACCESSION  OF  HENRY  V  91 

sprang  from  John  of  Gaunt,  third  son  of  Edward  III. 
King  Richard  II  had  himself,  in  1398,  recognised 
young  Edmund  of  March  as  heir  to  the  throne.  After 
the  revolution  of  1399,  which  displaced  Richard  II 
and  seated  the  Lancastrians  on  the  throne,  Henry  IV 
naturally  looked  with  little  favour  on  Richard's  heir. 
Edmund  was  therefore  kept  in  honourable  but  strict 
confinement  from  1399  to  1413.  But  Henry  V  had 
no  fears.  So  on  his  accession  to  the  throne  he 
released  the  Earl  of  March  and  restored  his  estates. 
The  confidence  was  justified.  Edmund,  who  was  then 
twenty-two  years  old,  became  the  devoted  servant  of 
the  king,  rejecting  all  incentives  to  treason,  and 
doing  useful  work  as  a  soldier  in  the  French  campaigns 
and  as  Governor  in  Ireland. 

While  the  king  was  holding  the  session  of  his  first 
parliament,  his  father  was  still  unburied.  The  body, 
which  had  been  embalmed,  lay  in  state  at  Canterbury. 
The  funeral  took  place  on  18  June,  Trinity  Sunday,  in 
the  presence  of  the  new  king.  Having  accomplished 
this  pious  duty,  Henry  V  was  faced  with  the  first 
crisis  of  his  reign  which  arose  from  the  Lollards. 

The  Lollards  owed  their  origin  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  III,  largely  to  the  teaching  of  John  Wycliffe. 
In  the  fourteenth  century  considerable  discontent  had 
been  manifested  in  England,  partly  with  the  papacy 
itself,  partly  with  the  prelates  at  home.  The  papacy 
had  since  1309  been  resident,  not  at  Rome,  but  at 
Avignon.  There  it  was  suspected  of  being  under  the 
political    influence    of    the    French    crown.      Even 


92  HENRY  V  [1413 

Catholic  historians  ^  admit  that  the  papacy  at  Avignon 
was  in  financial  difficulties  which  it  attempted  to 
remedy  by  disposmg  of  foreign  benefices  and  livings. 
In  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  it  was 
commonly  said  that  Avignon  was  a  regular  market 
for  English  livings,  a  place  of  "  brokers  of  benefices."  * 
The  general  resentment  at  this  was  manifested  in 
petitions  of  parliament  to  the  crown,  and  in  anti- 
papal  statutes,  the  acts  of  Provisors  and  Praemunire. 
It  was  contended  that  owing  to  the  practice  by  which 
the  Pope  provided  his  own  nominees  with  English 
benefices,  promotion  among  the  purely  English 
clergy  was  very  greatly  retarded,  so  that  the 
number  and  quality  of  candidates  for  ordination 
declined,  parents  being  naturally  unwilling  to  send 
their  sons  into  the  uncertain  profession  of  the  Church.' 
Discontent  was  also  felt  with  the  position  of  the 
English  hierarchy.  The  prelates  were  not  merely 
wealthy,  but  were  considered  to  spend  too  much  of 
their  time  in  the  political  service  of  the  king.  A  great 
prelate  like  William  of  Wykeham  was  an  official  high 
up  in  the  royal  service,  a  good  man  of  business,  a 
great  builder.  Clerical  statesmen  did  good  work  in 
the  government  of  the  nation,  they  were  able,  well- 
educated,  upright.  But  their  spiritual  duty  may 
have  suffered  through  the  exigency  of  secular  affairs, 
although  it  was  partly  by  reason  of  the  prelates'  great 

*  e.g.  Lingard,  Hiat.  of  England,  III,  257-8. 
^  Rolls  of  Pari.,  II,  337-8. 

'   Jhid, 


I4I3]        THE  ACCESSION  OF  HENRY  V 

position  in  the  government  that  they  were  able  to 
engage  in  their  magnificent  public  works  and  to 
obtain  charters  and  privileges  for  them  from  the  king, 
as  in  the  case  of  William  of  Wykeham's  great  founda- 
tions at  Winchester  and  Oxford.  But  John  Wy cliff e 
objected  that  this  immersion  in  public  business  was 
incompatible  with  the  Christian  ideal  of  the  ministry. 
Clerical  statesmen,  in  his  view,  were  only  "  Caesarean 
clergy,"  not  sufficiently  devoted  to  God.  Moreover, 
as  promotion  in  the  Church  was  by  way  of  services 
rendered  to  the  king,  priests  who  devoted  themselves 
wholly  to  their  spiritual  duties  were  apt  never  to  be 
recognised  by  the  crown,  and  so  to  pass  their  time  in 
a  subordinate  position  and  in  a  strictly  circumscribed 
sphere.  All  this  had  a  depressing  effect  upon  the 
clergy  in  general,  and  the  best  men  were  not  always 
attracted  into  the  Church.  The  wealth  of  the  prelates 
might  be  great,  but  the  stipends  of  the  lower  clergy 
were  inadequate.  A  great  clergyman  might  hold 
several  livings  in  plurality,  or  he  might  be  an  absentee 
altogether,  his  religious  work  being  performed  by  a 
curate,  who  was  not  able  to  carry  out  his  duties 
properly. 

Such  were  the  defects  of  the  Church  in  Wycliffe's 
estimation,  and  it  was  to  remedy  them  that  he  in- 
duced his  admirers  to  go  about  the  country  as  "poor 
preachers,"  supplementing  the  work  of  the  ordinary 
priesthood,  preaching  sermons,  reading  the  Bible, 
ministering  to  the  poor.  But  he  aimed  not  merely  at 
sending  preachers  into  every  district,  but  at  bringing 


94  HENRY  V  [1413 

back  the  Church  to  a  condition  of  apostolic  poverty. 
All  clergymen  were  to  be  adequately  provided  for,  but 
large  incomes  were  not  to  be  tolerated,  and  the  great 
possessions  of  the  cathedrals  and  monasteries  were 
to  be  reduced  or  taken  away.  Such  great  possessions, 
such  "  dominion,"  only  tempted  Churchmen  to  live 
easy  lives  and  to  neglect  the  means  of  grace.  But 
"  dominion  "  in  Wycliffe's  view  was  founded  on  grace  ; 
clergymen,  noblemen,  kings,  who  did  not  live  in 
grace,  had  no  right  to  their  dominion. 

Thus  Wycliffe's  followers,  who  in  the  last  quar- 
ter of  the  fourteenth  century  were  gradually  known 
as  Lollards,  came  into  collision  both  with  the  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  authorities.  The  theory  of  do- 
minion struck  not  merely  at  ecclesiastical  property, 
but  seemed  to  imply  that  a  priest  who  did  not  live  in 
grace,  who  was  sinful,  had  no  right  to  the  privileges 
of  priesthood,  and  could  not  validly  mediate  between 
God  and  men  and  dispense  the  sacraments.  Wy cliff e 
even  went  further  and  questioned  the  sacramental 
doctrine  itself.  Although  he  clothed  his  thought 
in  the  subtleties  of  the  schoolmen's  metaphysical 
language,  he  cast  doubt  on  the  doctrine  of  transub- 
stantiation  in  the  Eucharist.  Thus  his  followers 
became  implicated  in  the  charge  of  heresy.  At  the 
same  time,  his  views  on  property  and  the  ethics  of 
disendowment,  his  theory  that  the  dominion  of  civil 
as  well  as  spiritual  nobles  was  founded  on  grace, 
seemed  to  countenance  rebellion  in  the  lower  classes 
and  attacks  on  property  in  general.     Thus  opposed 


I4I3]         THE  ACCESSION  OF  HENRY  V  95 

by  State  and  Church,  the  Lollards  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  IV  had  increasingly  felt  the  weight  of  the 
law's  hand. 

Henry  V,  like  his  father,  was  a  loyal  son  of  the 
Church  and  no  sympathiser  with  Lollardy.  But  he 
had  never  shown  any  great  enthusiasm  for  persecu- 
tion. He  presided  over  the  burning  of  John  Badby  in 
1410,  but  he  gave  the  heretic  every  chance  to  recant. 
Enthusiastic  Churchmen  considered  him  as  prince  of 
Wales  much  too  lukewarm  in  his  zeal  against  the 
Lollards,  and  reproved  him  for  his  backwardness.* 
But  the  clause  "  de  heretico  comburendo  "  of  the 
statute  of  1401  still  remained  the  law  of  the  land  on 
Henry  V's  accession,  and  the  new  king  could  hardly 
help  taking  some  notice  of  the  heretics.  Archbishop 
Arundel,  their  opponent,  was  no  longer  Chancellor  of 
the  kingdom,  but  he  was  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
and  his  demand  for  persecution  would  be  difficult  to 
neglect. 

Yet  if  the  Lollards  had  confined  themselves  to 
criticism  of  the  Church  and  even  of  the  Church's 
doctrines,  they  might  have  escaped  with  but  little 
loss  at  the  hands  of  Henry  V.  It  was  by  mixing 
themselves  with  political  affairs  that  they  came 
specially  into  conflict  with  him. 

The  Lancastrian  dynasty  was  on  the  throne  of 
England,  but  its  right  was  not  unchallenged.  There 
were  still  people  who  remembered  the  now  dormant 
claims  of  the  Earl  of  March.     Some  still  pretended 

^  Stubbs,  Constitutional  History,  111,  70,  note  1. 


96  HENRY  V  [1413 

that  Richard  II  was  not  dead,  but  might  be  found  and 
brought  back  to  his  kingdom.  Richard  II  had  been 
popular  with  the  Lollards,  although  he  did  not  treat 
them  leniently.  1  So  now  that  Henry  IV  was  dead,  and 
the  new  king  was  not  thoroughly  established,  some  of 
the  Lollards  seem  to  have  thought  of  a  revolution, 
which  might  end  in  establishing  a  government  more 
favourable  to  their  opinions  than  was  the  house  of 
Lancaster. 

The  chief  Lollard  at  the  accession  of  Henry  V  was 
Sir  John  Oldcastle,  known  through  his  marriage  with 
the  Baroness  Cobham  in  1409  as  Lord  Cobham,  and 
summoned  regularly  to  the  house  of  peers  under  that 
title.  This  gentleman  had  served  the  crown  under 
Henry  IV,  had  fought  on  the  Welsh  March  and  in 
France,  and  had  been  attached  in  some  capacity  or 
other  to  the  prince's  household.  Henry  V  admired 
and  liked  him,  but  had  some  doubts  about  him  on 
account  of  his  heresy.  ^ 

In  the  convocation  of  clergy  which  met  and  sat 
about  the  same  time  as  the  session  of  parliament,  it 
was  stated  that  Oldcastle  was  the  great  propagator  of 
Lollardy  and  had  taken  pains  to  maintain  Lollard 
preachers  in  the  dioceses  of  London,  Rochester  and 
Hereford.  Archbishop  Arundel  was  therefore  called 
on  to  proceed  against  the  offender.  But  Arundel 
refrained  for  a  time  out  of  deference  to  the  wishes  of 


'  Richard   II 's   readiness   to    put  in    force    the    laws    against 
Lollardy  is  proved  in  Gairdner,  Lollardy,  I,  42. 
*  Walsiughami,  op.  cit.,  II,  291. 


1413]         THE  ACCESSION  OF  HENRY  V  97 

the  king.  This  was  in  summer  1413.  By  the  king's 
advice  the  matter  was  suspended  for  a  time.  Mean- 
while the  king  personally  interested  himself  to 
persuade  Oldcastle  to  give  up  his  heresy  and  ac- 
knowledge his  error  ;  but  without  effect.  Then  the 
Archbishop  had  him  publicly  cited  by  a  mandate 
affixed  to  the  door  of  Rochester  Cathedral,  to  the 
effect  that  he  should  appear  before  the  Archbishop 
to  answer  to  charges  of  heresy  on  11  September. 
When  this  day  arrived,  the  Archbishop  was  ready 
to  receive  the  heretic  in  the  great  chapel  of  Leeds 
Castle,  near  Maidstone  in  Kent.  But  Oldcastle 
stayed  quietly  at  Cooling  Castle  and  did  not  come. 
He  was  again  publicly  cited,  and  then,  failing  to 
appear,  was  immediately  excommunicated.  He  was 
then  offered  another  chance  of  justifying  himself ; 
and  on  23  September  he  was  taken  into  custody  by 
the  Constable  of  the  Tower  of  London  and  brought 
before  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the  bishops 
of  London  and  Winchester,  sitting  in  the  Chapter- 
house of  St.  Paul's. 

Oldcastle  was  given  a  fair  trial  under  the  existing 
laws.  His  contumacy  in  not  attending  when  sum- 
moned was  held  up  before  him,  but  the  Archbishop 
offered  to  absolve  him  forthwith  from  excommunica- 
tion. Oldcastle  refused  the  absolution,  and  offered 
instead  to  the  Archbishop  a  written  statement  of  his 
faith.  This  statement  was  satisfactory  and  "  suf- 
ficiently Catholic"  ^  as  far  as  it  went,  but  it  was  not 

1  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  293. 
H 


98  HENRY  V  [1413 

comprehensive.  The  Archbishop,  after  reading  it, 
put  to  him  the  test  question  :  Does  the  bread  in  the 
Sacrament,  after  consecration,  remain  material  or 
not  ?  "  Oldcastle  rephed  that  he  had  nothing  more 
to  say  than  was  in  his  written  statement.  He  was 
then  sent  back  to  the  Tower.  On  25  September  he 
was  again  examined.  He  then  stated,  in  a  very 
moderate  and  judicious  manner,  what  may  be  called 
the  Protestant  view  of  the  Eucharist,  the  power  of 
the  priest  for  absolution,  the  worship  of  the  image  of 
Christ,  and  the  power  of  the  Pope  and  the  prelates  in 
binding  and  in  loosing.  These  answers  proving 
unsatisfactory  to  the  bishops,  Oldcastle  was  judged 
guilty  of  heresy  by  the  Archbishop.  At  the  same 
time  it  was  recommended  to  the  king  that  the  guilty 
man  should  have  forty  days'  respite.  But  before  this 
time  was  completed  Oldcastle  managed  somehow  to 
escape  from  the  Tower.  It  must  have  been  difficult 
to  escape  from  that  fortress,  but  doubtless  he  had 
Lollard  sympathisers  among  the  garrison.  It  is 
possible  that  the  constable  of  the  Tower,  at  the  desire 
of  the  king,  purposely  left  a  careless  guard.  King  Henry 
would  have  liked  Oldcastle  to  escape  over  sea  and  be 
no  more  heard  of  in  England.  If  this  was  his  desire, 
the  king  was  disappointed.  For  the  knight  found  a 
refuge  in  Wales, ^  and  was  soon  suspected  of  preparing 
some  great  armed  demonstration  against  the  royal 
government.  Amid  such  rumours  the  year  1413 
passed   away.      In   December  the   king   caused  the 

*  Memorials  of  Henry  V,  17. 


HENRY   \' 

National  Portrait  Gallcrv 


Photo,  Emi-ry  Wnlker 


I4I3-I4]     THE  ACCESSION  OF  HENRY  V  99 

body  of  Richard  II,  which  had  been  interred  at  King's 
Langley,  to  be  removed  to  Westminster  and  honour- 
ably buried  there.  This  was  an  acknowledgment  of 
the  kindness  which  Richard  had  formerly  shown  to 
Henry,  ^  and  also  a  public  demonstration  that  Richard 
was  really  dead. 

The  political  danger  from  the  Lollards  came  to  a 
head  almost  immediately.  The  king  was  spending 
Christmas  at  the  royal  manor  of  Eltham.  Some 
Lollards  conspired  to  seize  him  there,  but  the  daring 
plan  failed  through  Henry  being  warned  by  some  of 
the  conspirators  themselves.  The  king  at  once  went 
off  quietly  to  his  palace  at  Westminster,  where  he  felt 
safe,  as  he  was  most  popular  with  the  people  of 
London. 

But  the  revolutionaries  would  not  abandon  their 
designs.  On  the  night  of  12  January  a  number  of 
people  began  to  assemble  outside  London  in  a  field 
behind  St.  Giles'  Hospital.  Oldcastle  seems  to  have 
left  Wales  some  time  previously,  and  to  have  been 
hiding  with  some  sympathisers  at  St.  Albans.  ^ 
He  was  believed  on  this  evening  to  be  awaiting  his 
supporters  in  St.  Giles'  Field.  The  king  resolved  to 
attack  the  Lollards  that  very  night.  He  ordered  the 
gates  of  London  to  be  strictly  guarded,  so  that  no  one 
could  get  out  to  join  the  assemblage  behind  St.  Giles'. 
With  only  a  moderate-sized  band  of  armed  men,  he 
marched  to  the  place  of  meeting.  But  the  Lollards  had 
heard  of  his  coming.     Disappointed  in  their  hope  of 

1  IHd.,  65,  72.  »  Ibid.,  17. 


100  HENRY  V  [1414-15 

support  from  London,  they  dispersed  and  fled. 
The  king's  men  killed  a  few  and  captured  some  others. 
But  nothing  could  be  ascertained  about  Oldcastle, 
although  the  king  offered  great  rewards  for  his 
apprehension.  This  shows  the  popularity  in  which 
the  knight  was  held  among  many  of  the  commons. 
It  is  uncertain  whether  he  really  was  in  St.  Giles'  Field 
at  all,  A  number  of  his  followers  who  were  captured 
— it  is  not  known  how  many — were  executed.  The 
throne  of  king  Henry  had  been  in  real  danger  ;  his 
prompt  action  had  crushed  what  might  have  become 
a  formidable  rising.^  Royal  officers  in  the  country 
districts  had  noticed  many  people  travelling  as  if  to 
London,  and  on  asking  whither  they  went  had 
received  the  reply  "  to  their  Lord  of  Cobham."  The 
travellers  were  all  apprehended  and  detained.  ^ 

The  career  of  Oldcastle  was  not  yet  finished.  He 
was  to  trouble  Henry  for  nearly  four  years  more. 
When  the  king  was  preparing  for  the  French  war  in 
1415,  Oldcastle  seems  to  have  thought  the  time 
propitious  for  another  rising.  Henry  in  July,  1415, 
had  gone  to  Southampton  to  make  arrangements  for 
the  army  which  was  to  cross  with  him  to  France. 
There  a  conspiracy  against  the  king  was  discovered, 
involving  Richard  Earl  of  Cambridge  (a  grandson  of 
Edward  III),  Henry  le  Scrope  and  Sir  Thomas  Grey  of 
Heton.     At  the  same  time,  as  if  by  agreement,  ^  the 

1  There  may  have  been  20,000  Lollards  in  St.  Giles'  Field. 
Wylie,  op.  cit.,  280. 

*  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  299.  »  Ibid.,  306. 


I4I5-I7]    THE  ACCESSION  OF  HENRY  V         101 

Lollards  began  to  stir,  fixing  on  church  doors  writings 
which  threatened  both  the  prelates  and  the  king. 
Oldcastle  was  at  Malvern  then,  and  seems  to  have 
been  ready  to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  sym- 
pathisers. But  when  the  conspiracy  of  Richard  of 
Cambridge  was  discovered  and  crushed,  Oldcastle 
retired  into  hiding  again. 

King  Henry  went  off  on  the  glorious  campaign  of 
Agincourt,  and  ultimately  returned  to  London  with 
his  power  stronger  than  ever  in  November.  Little 
more  was  heard  of  the  Lollards,  and  none  seems  to 
have  been  fined  for  heresy  during  the  next  year.  But 
in  1417,  when  it  was  believed  that  the  king  was 
again  going  to  France,  Oldcastle  began  to  gather 
together  the  threads  of  a  plot.  In  July,  1417,  Henry 
crossed  to  Normandy  with  an  army.  The  Scots, 
following  their  usual  practice  when  the  English 
forces  were  away  in  France,  opened  war  and  besieged 
the  castle  of  Roxburgh,  which  was  then  in  English 
hands.  It  was  believed  that  Oldcastle  had  an  under- 
standing with  the  Scots,  that  he  had  spoken  with  the 
Earl  of  Douglas  at  Pontefract  and  had  promised  the 
Earl  a  large  sum  of  money  if  he  would  bring  to 
England  the  pretender  whom  the  Scots  called  king 
Richard  ^  and  kept  for  their  own  purposes  as  though 
Richard  II  was  not  long  since  dead.  The  Scots, 
however,  were  forced  to  retire  by  an  army  under  the 
Dukes  of  Bedford  and  Exeter.  Oldcastle  again  went 
into   concealment   at    St.   Albans.      From   there   he 

^  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  327. 


102  HENRY  V  [1417 

seems  to  have  gone  to  Wales,  where  he  was  captured 
near  Welshpool  by  Lord  Powis.  He  was  brought  to 
London  and  examined  in  parliament  before  the 
Duke  of  Bedford,  who  was  acting  as  regent  in  the 
absence  of  the  king.  When  asked  whether  there  was 
any  reason  why  he  should  not  be  adjudged  a  traitor, 
Oldcastle  replied  with  a  speech  on  the  mercy  and 
justice  of  God.  The  Duke  sternly  bade  him  answer 
to  the  point  ;  after  some  more  delay  Oldcastle  said 
he  would  not  recognise  any  of  those  present  as  his 
judge  so  long  as  his  liege-lord  king  Richard  was 
alive  in  Scotland.  Whereupon  he  was  judged  to  be 
drawn,  hanged,  and  his  body  subsequently  to  be 
burned.  The  execution  took  place  on  14  December, 
on  the  scene  of  the  great  Lollard  conventicle  in  St. 
Giles'  Field.  Oldcastle  has  left  a  reputation  for 
personal  integrity  ;  he  was  a  martyr  for  his  religious 
opinions.  But  he  was  undoubtedly  guilty  of  treason 
as  a  rebel,  and  it  was  as  such  that  he  suffered  death.  ^ 
From  this  time  king  Henry  was  untroubled  by 
Lollard  risings,  and  on  the  side  of  the  government 
there  seems  to  have  been  little,  if  any,  further 
religious  persecution. ^ 

1  Rolls  0/  Pari,  IV,  107-8  ;    Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  328. 

^  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  a  famous  statute 
passed  by  parliament  at  Leicester  three  months  after  the  Lollard 
rising,  greatly  increased  the  powers  of  the  Church,  in  searching  out 
heretics.     Wylie,  loc.  cit.,  281-2. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  FRENCH  WAR 

Like  a  monarch  of  a  later  period,  Frederick  the 
Great  of  Prussia,  Henry  V  came  to  the  throne  at  an 
age  that  was  prone  to  warhke  deeds,  and  ready  for 
great  exertions.  It  is,  of  course,  difficult  to  analyse 
his  motives  in  renewing  the  French  war  of  his 
great-grandfather  Edward  III.  It  was  an  ill  day 
for  his  house  when  he  did  so,  for  although  the  French 
war  brought  the  most  glorious  days  to  Henry  V, 
they  brought  nothing  but  disaster  to  his  son,  the  next 
king,  whose  reign  as  a  consequence  came  to  an 
unhappy  end  in  his  deposition  and  probably  violent 
death. 

It  may  be  that  Henry  V,  in  his  great  attempt  to 
conquer  France,  was  actuated  by  ambition.  He  was 
already  a  successful  soldier  and  general,  he  had  large 
ideas,  and  his  mind  was  uplifted  by  the  memory  of 
the  achievenients  of  Edward  III  and  the  "  Black 
Prince,"  and  by  reading  the  lives  of  heroic  soldiers 
like  Godfrey  of  Bouillon.  From  words  which  he  said 
when  on  his  death-bed,  it  is  possible  that  his  plan 
embraced  not  merely  the  conquest  of  France,  but 
after  that  an  expedition  of  his  combined  kingdoms 
of  England  and  France  against  the  infidel  power  of 

103 


104  HENRY  V  [1414 

Palestine,  so  that  the  Holy  Land  should  be  once 
more  restored  to  Christian  keeping. 

Again,  it  has  been  thought  that  Henry's  reason  for 
the  French  war  included  more  mundane  considera- 
tions. The  Lancastrian  house  was  a  new  dynasty  on 
the  throne.  His  father  was  the  first  king  of  the  line, 
and  his  reign  had  not  been  unchallenged.  Even  the 
power  of  Henry  V  had  not  been  accepted  universally 
as  the  Lollard  conventicle  in  St.  Giles'  Field  had 
shown.  A  successful  foreign  war  would  turn  the 
attention  of  the  nation  outwards  from  criticism  of 
the  Lancastrian  title.  Patriotism  and  the  nation's 
pride  in  its  king  would  both  be  increased  by  the  war. 
The  personal  leadership  of  the  king  would  establish 
the  royal  position  in  the  army  ;  and  the  nobles  and 
other  warlike  spirits  would  be  given  a  cause  to  fight 
for  abroad,  instead  of  turning  their  energies  perhaps 
to  revolution  at  home. 

Shakespeare  has  given  his  approval  to  another 
interpretation  of  Henry's  conduct  at  this  time.  The 
Church  in  England  was  wealthy.  The  crown  was 
comparatively  poor,  and  found  difficulty  in  meeting 
all  its  financial  obligations.  More  than  once  men  had 
turned  their  eyes  to  the  wealth  of  the  Church,  and 
had  advocated  some  measure  of  disendowment  and  the 
confiscation  of  part  of  the  Church's  wealth  to  the  use 
of  the  state.  Attacks  of  this  kind  were  not  confined 
to  the  Lollards;  in  the  parliament  which  met  at 
Leicester  in  1414,  the  English  property  of  alien  priories 
— ^priories  of  foreign  monasteries  which  had,  as  it  were, 


I4I4]  THE  FRENCH  WAR  105 

colonies  in  England — was  handed  over  to  the  king.^ 
The  English  Churchmen  may  have  feared  an  extension 
of  the  principle  of  disendowment,  and  a  revival  of  the 
famous  petition  of  1410,  which  proposed  that  the 
lands  of  the  bishops  and  abbots  should  be  taken 
over  by  Henry  IV.  The  speeches  of  Archbishop 
Chichele  in  the  first  act  of  Shakespeare's  King 
Henry  the  Fifth  are,  of  course,  imaginary.  But 
they  may  contain  some  truth,  and  they  serve  to 
show,  as  does  the  chronicler  Hall,  from  whom 
Shakespeare  derived  his  material,  that  the  Church 
considered  Henry  V  likely  to  listen  to  petitions 
of  parliament  for  disendowment.  If  the  Church's 
property  was  in  danger  from  Henry,  he  cannot  have 
been  such  an  orthodox  bigot  as  he  is  sometimes  repre- 
sented. It  is  not  known,  however,  that  the  Churchmen 
really  urged  him  to  the  French  war,  as  a  means  of 
turning  him  away  from  tampering  with  the  Church 
at  home.  This  only  is  certain,  that  once  Henry  had 
resolved  on  war,  the  Churchmen  supported  him  and 
voted  him  generous  supplies. 

Whatever  other  motives  Henry  V  may  have  had, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  he  fervently  believed  in  the 
justice  of  his  cause  and  the  goodness  of  his  claim  to 
the  French  crown.  Edward  III  had  already  claimed 
to  be  king  of  France,  through  his  mother  Isabella, 
daughter  of  Philip  IV.  Edward's  successful  rival  on 
the  French  throne  was  Philip  of  Valois  (VI),  nephew 

1  Selden,  Table-Talk  (ed.  Reynolds,  1892),  5:  "Henry  the  5tliput 
away  the  friars'  aliens,  and  seized  to  himself  £100,000  a  year  ;  and 
therefore  the}'  were  not  the  protestants  only  that  took  away  Church 
linds." 


106  HENRY  V  [1414 

of  Philip  IV.  There  is  not  much  doUbt  now  that  the 
claim  of  Philip  of  Valois  was  better  than  that  of 
Edward  III  both  from  a  political  and  legal  point  of 
view.  If  there  was  any  justice  in  the  claim  of  Edward 
III,  his  right  would  have  descended  not  to  the 
Lancastrian  or  junior  branch  of  his  family,  but  to  the 
eldest  branch  represented  by  the  Earl  of  March.  The 
fact  that  the  Earl  of  March  was  descended  from  the 
eldest  line  of  Edward  III  only  through  a  female  was 
no  hindrance,  for  Edward  III  only  claimed  to  inherit 
the  crown  of  France  through  a  female,  Isabella. 

Thus,  if  in  French  law  Edward  III  had  a  shadow  of 
claim  to  the  French  crown,  that  claim  certainly  did 
not  descend  to  Henry  V.  Yet  Henry  evidently  con- 
sidered that  by  the  act  of  parliament  of  1399,  which 
put  his  family  on  the  English  throne,  all  the  sovereign 
right  and  claims  of  Edward  III,  not  merely  in  England 
but  in  France,  were  handed  over  to  the  Lancastrian 
house.  So  Henry  V  believed  in  his  right  to  the  French 
crown,  and  as  the  war  continued  and  his  life  drew  to 
a  close,  his  belief  only  grew  stronger.  Evidence  of 
this  is  to  be  found  throughout  his  career  ;  sometimes 
he  seems  to  have  looked  on  himself  as  a  national 
English  king,  a  knight  and  warrior  ;  sometimes  he 
seems  to  have  regarded  himself  as  a  chosen  vessel  of 
God,  for  uniting  the  two  great  powers  of  England  and 
France,  for  healing  schism  in  the  Church,  for  conquer- 
ing the  infidel.  He  probably  did  not  argue  the  matter. 
The  success  of  his  war  seemed  to  prove  the  justice  of 
his  cause.    He  could  not  look  into  the  future,  when 


I4I4] 


THE  FRENCH  WAR 


107 


108  HENRY  V  [1414 

the  final  failure  of  the  Hundred  Years'  War  was  to 
show  the  ultimate  vanity  of  his  claims. 

In  1414  the  time  seemed  propitious  for  the  exten- 
sion of  the  English  power  in  France.  Since  1393 
the  French  king  Charles  VI  had  been  subject  at  in- 
tervals to  loss  of  his  reason.  During  these  attacks  the 
question  of  the  regency  to  be  provided  for  the  king- 
dom had  resulted  in  terrible  discords  between  the  two 
branches  of  the  royal  family  which  expected  to  hold 
the  power.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  IV,  the  English 
government  had  not  been  entirely  consistent,  although 
on  the  whole  prince  Henry  had  advocated  an  alliance 
with  the  Burgundian  party.  Clearly  there  had  been 
an  idea  in  England  that  an  invasion  of  France  might 
be  undertaken  one  day,  and  that  an  understanding 
with  one  or  other  of  the  two  parties  might  be  advan- 
tageous to  us.  Such  an  understanding  Henry  V  soon 
entered  into  with  the  Duke  of  Burgundy. 

This  was  John  "  the  Fearless,"  the  second  of  the 
four  Burgundian  dukes  of  the  Valois  house. 

Chakles  of  Valois 

I      (Dates  of  death  are  given). 
Philip  VI 

I 
John 


Charles  V Philip 

I                          I  I    (1*04) 

I                         I  John  the  Fearless 

Charles  VI         Louis  of  Orleans  1       (1419) 

I                          I              (1407)  I 

I                         I  Philip  the  Good 

Charles  VII       Charles  of  Orleans  i     (1467) 

I                                        (1465)  ! 

Louis  XI  Charles  the  Bold 

(1477) 


I4I4]  THE  FRENCH  WAR  109 

Since  the  death  of  his  father  PhiHp  in  1404,  John 
had  naturally  held  great  influence  at  the  court  of 
Charles  VI,  and  no  doubt  would  always  have  ad- 
ministered the  regency  during  the  king's  madness, 
but  for  the  predilections  of  Charles  who  favoured  the 
pretensions  of  his  nephew  Charles  of  Orleans.  The 
murder  of  the  elder  duke,  Louis  of  Orleans  at  Paris, 
in  1407,  established  a  state  of  civil  war  between  the 
Burgundian  and  the  Armagnac  party,  as  the  faction 
of  Charles  of  Orleans  was  called,  owing  to  the  pre- 
dominant position  in  his  party  of  his  father-in-law, 
the  powerful  Gascon  Count  of  Armagnac.  In  1414 
the  Orleanists  with  the  support  of  Charles  VI  had 
gained  the  upper  hand  at  court,  and  even  in  Paris 
itself,  where  up  till  then  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  had 
enjoyed  great  popularity.  John  the  Fearless,  to 
regain  his  great  position,  was  prepared  to  accept  the 
overtures  of  Henry  V. 

Henry  was  now  ready  to  break  the  twenty-five 
years'  truce  made  in  1396.  In  1414  he  held  two 
parliaments.  The  first,  which  was  at  Leicester, 
assembled  on  the  last  day  of  April.  Reference  was 
made  in  a  petition  of  the  commons  to  the  king's 
"adversary  of  France,"^  but  the  question  was  not 
debated.  In  the  same  parliament  the  king,  at  the 
request  of  the  estates,  created  his  brother  John  Duke 
of  Bedford,  and  his  brother  Humphrey  Duke  of 
Gloucester.  His  cousin  Richard,  son  of  Edmund 
Duke  of  York,  was  made  Earl  of  Cambridge.    At  the 

1  Rolls  of  Pari,  IV,  22. 


110  HENRY  V  [1414 

same  time  Edward  Duke  of  York,  whose  fidelity  had 
always,  and  with  reason,  been  under  a  cloud,  was  de- 
clared to  be  a  good  and  loyal  liege.  To  Leicester  came 
envoys  both  from  the  king  of  France  (that  is,  the  Ar- 
magnac  party)  ^  and  from  the  dukes  of  Burgundy. 
Doubtless,  the  Armagnacs  offered  terms  of  peace,  while 
Burgundy  offered  support  in  war.  Henry  prudently 
sent  English  envoys  to  both,^  to  consider  the  terms  of 
each  party.  The  envoys  sent  to  the  king  of  France  were 
the  bishops  of  Durham  and  Norwich.  They  asked 
for  more  than  the  French  Government  was  disposed 
to  give ;  so  returning  they  denounced  the  "  treachery  " 
of  the  French,  so  that  Henry  felt  justified  in  threaten- 
ing war  at  once.  About  Michaelmas  ^  a  great  council 
of  the  magnates  of  the  kingdom,  nobles  and  prelates, 
was  held  at  Westminster,  and  the  king  formally  asked 
their  advice  regarding  his  claim  to  the  crown  of 
France.  They  stated  their  confidence  that  the  king 
would  do  nothing  in  so  important  a  matter  except  to 
the  pleasure  of  God  and  to  avoid  the  effusion  of 
Christian  blood.    They  recommended  that  he  should 

1  C.  L.  Kingsford,  First  Life,  xliii— iv,  quotes  from  an  unpublished 
manuscript  of  Streecho  (Addit.  MS.,  35295,  f.  266),  which  says  that  on 
27  February,  1414,  at  Kenilworth,  the  French  ambassadors  derisively 
offered  to  send  to  Henry  "  little  balls  to  play  with,  and  soft  cushions 
to  rest  on,  until  what  time  he  should  grow  to  a  man's  strength." 
Henry,  though  greatly  angered,  replied  shortly  :  "If  God  so  wills 
and  my  life  lasts,  I  will  within  a  few  months  play  such  a  game  of 
ball  in  the  Frenchman's  streets  that  they  shall  lose  their  jest,  and 
oain  but  grief  for  their  game."  This  is  the  historical  authority  for 
the  famous  incident  of  the  tennis-balls  (Shakespeare,  King  Henry  V, 
Act  I,  Sc.  2).  It  is  tolerably  certain  that  the  incident  never  took 
place. 

*  Walsingham,  op.  cit..  II,  300. 

3  Ibid.,  302. 


I4-4-I5]  THE  FRENCH  WAR  111 

send  ambassadors  to  France  for  further  negotiations, 
and  in  the  meantime  that  every  preparation  should 
be  made  for  invading  that  kingdom.^ 

The  second  parHament  of  the  year  1414  was  held 
about  the  middle  of  November.  ^  It  was  clear  that 
war  was  imminent.  In  the  convocation  which  had 
just  come  to  an  end,  the  clergy  had  granted  the  king 
two-tenths  of  their  revenue — a  large  subsidy  necessary 
for  purposes  of  war.  The  estates  of  the  realm  did 
likewise.  The  cause  of  the  summons  was  stated  by 
the  Chancellor  at  the  opening  of  parliament  to  be  that 
the  king  desired  to  recover  his  inheritance  outside 
England.  By  inheritance,  perhaps  only  Normandy, 
Anjou  and  the  lost  portions  of  Aquitaine  were  meant. 
The  Chancellor  did  not  mention  any  claim  to  the 
crown  of  France.  A  special  grant  of  two-fifteenths 
and  two-tenths  of  all  movable  property  of  all 
subjects  was  made,  to  be  levied  in  the  accustomed 
manner — the  fifteenths  to  be  paid  by  the  counties 
and  the  tenths  by  the  towns.  But  the  estates  of 
parliament  at  the  same  time  requested  that  another 
embassy  should  be  sent  to  France  to  try  the  effect 
of  negotiations  before  the  invasion  was  definitely 
undertaken.* 

Accordingly,  in  the  beginning  of  1415  Thomas 
Beaufort,  Earl  of  Dorset,  uncle  of  the  king  and 
Admiral  of  England,  Richard,  Lord  Grey  and  the 

1  Proc.  of  Privy  Council,  II,  IX,  140-2. 

»  Rolla  of  Pari.,  IV,  34. 

8  Proc.  of  Privy  Council,  II,  150. 


112  HENRY  V  [1415 

bishops  of  Durham  and  Norwich  went  on  a  grand 
embass}^  to  Paris  with  600  cava  Hers.  ^  Charles  was  at 
this  time  in  possession  of  his  faculties,  and  with  the 
Duke  of  Orleans  had  arranged  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
John  of  Burgundy.  He  readily  consented  on  24 
January  -  to  renew  the  truce  at  present  existing 
between  France  and  England.  The  other  terms  of  the 
English  envoys  could  not,  however,  be  accepted.  In 
the  first  place,  they  demanded  that  the  crov/n  and 
kingdom  of  France  should  be  restored  to  the  English 
king,  a  claim  on  which  evidently  they  had  authority 
from  Henry  V  not  to  insist.  Seeing  that  it  would  not 
be  granted  by  Charles  VI,  the  envoys  proceeded  to 
offer  an  alternative  series  of  terms  :  firstly,  the 
cession  by  France  to  England  of  Normandy,  Anjou, 
Maine,  Touraine  ;  the  grant  of  feudal  suzerainty  over 
Brittany  and  Flanders  ;  the  cession  of  all  the  portions 
of  Aquitaine  which  had  been  occupied  by  French 
forces,  and  generally  the  cession  of  all  lands  and 
jurisdictions  which  had  been  ceded  to  Edward  III  at 
the  treaty  of  Bretigny  (or  Calais),  in  1360.  Such  was 
the  first  demand. 

The  second  was  the  cession  of  half  of  Provence, 
with  the  castles  and  domains  of  Beaufort  and 
Nogent,  which  were  claimed  as  part  of  the  Lancas- 
trian family  inheritance. 

The  third  demand  was  for  payment  of  all  arrears  of 
the  ransom  of  king  John  of  France,  who  had  been 

1  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  I,  210. 

2  Foedera,  IX,  196. 


I4I5]  THE  FRENCH  WAR  113 

captured  by  the  Black  Prince  at  Poitiers  in  1356.  The 
arrears  were  calculated  at  1,600,000  French  crowns. 

The  last  demand  was  that  two  million  crowns 
should  be  given  as  the  portion  of  the  princess  Kather- 
ine,  daughter  of  Charles  VI,  on  marrying  Henry  V. 
This  marriage  was  really  the  prime  condition  and  a 
guarantee  of  good  faith  on  both  sides. 

To  every  point  the  Duke  of  Berry,  acting  on  behalf 
of  Charles  VI,  replied  specifically  ;  with  regard  to  the 
territorial  concessions  demanded,  the  French  govern- 
ment would  cede  the  greater  part  of  the  Agenais, 
Bazadais,  Auch,  Perigord,  Lectoure,  Oleron,  Bigorre, 
Saintonge  to  the  south  of  the  Charente,  Quercy, 
Angoumois  and  Rouergue.  This,  with  the  parts 
of  Aquitaine  already  held  by  the  English,  would 
restore  that  Duchy  to  something  near  the  limits 
occupied  by  Henry  II. 

With  respect  to  the  arrears  of  king  John's  ransom, 
the  Duke  of  Berry  stated  that  as  the  French  king  was 
ready  to  give  up  so  much  territory,  the  English  might 
be  content  to  ask  no  more  for  the  present  ;  and  with 
respect  to  a  dowry  for  the  princess  Katherine,  Charles 
would  give  six  hundred  thousand  crowns  of  gold, 
although  that  was  a  greater  sum  than  the  kings  of 
France  were  wont  to  give  with  their  daughters. 

The  English  negotiators  continued  a  short  time 
longer  in  Paris.  They  reduced  the  sum  demanded  as  a 
dowry  with  the  princess  Katherine  from  two  millions 
to  one  million  crowns.  The  French  government 
raised  their  offer  from  600,000  to  800,000  crowns, 
I 


114  HENRY  V  [1415 

and  in  addition  guaranteed  to  see  that  the  princess 
had  a  suitable  wardrobe  provided  when  she  went  to 
be  married.^  But  the  envoys  of  Henry  V,  unable  to 
accept  these  concessions,  returned  to  England  without 
accomplishing  anything.  Yet  the  French  had  offered 
something  very  substantial,  and,  indeed,  it  seems  a 
pity  that  Henry  could  not  be  content  with  the  Duchy 
of  Aquitaine.  It  was  bound  to  the  English  crown  by 
old  ties  of  commerce  and  of  history  ;  it  was  perhaps 
the  only  part  of  France  where  the  inhabitants,  in  the 
great  maritime  towns  at  least,  looked  with  favour  on 
the  English  connection. 

With  the  return  of  the  ambassadors  the  invasion  of 
France  became  certain.  On  18  March  the  king 
commissioned  two  knights  to  go  to  Holland  and 
Zealand  to  contract  with  the  merchants  and  captains 
there  for  ships  for  the  king's  service. ^  About  the  same 
time  (the  document  is  not  dated)  a  great  council 
seems  to  have  been  held  at  Westminster,  in  which 
the  king  announced  the  failure  of  the  negotiations  in 
Paris.  At  another  council  held  on  16,  17  and  18 
April  the  king  reiterated  his  determination  to  invade 
France  and  appointed  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  Bedford, 
to  be  lieutenant  of  the  kingdom  in  his  absence.  A 
council  of  eight  was  at  the  same  time  appointed 
to  assist  the  duke  ;  it  consisted  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  the  bishops  of  Winchester  and  Durham, 
the  Earl  of  Westmoreland,  the  Prior  of  the  hospital 

1  Full  text  of  negotiations  in  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  208-15. 
«  Ibid.,  21u. 


I4I5]  THE  FRENCH  WAR  115 

of  St.  John,  the  Lords   Grey  of  Ruthin,   Berkeley, 
Powis  and  Morley.^ 

Throughout  the  spring  and  summer  preparations 
went  on  busily  for  the  war.  King  Henry  spent  his 
time  partly  at  the  palace  of  Westminster,  partly  at 
Winchester  and  other  places  in  the  South  of  England. 
Meanwhile  a  last  attempt  was  made  by  the  French 
government  to  avert  by  a  peaceful  treaty  the  coming 
war.  In  June  ^  came  the  Count  of  Vendome,  the 
Archbishop  of  Bourges,  the  Bishop)  of  Lisieux  and 
four  others.  They  crossed  from  Calais  to  Dover  and 
proceeded  to  Canterbmy.  With  their  companions 
and  attendants  they  numbered  350  cavaliers.  After 
going  to  London,  they  went  down  to  Winchester,  and 
appeared  in  front  of  the  king,  his  brothers  the  Dukes 
of  Clarence,  Bedford  and  Gloucester  and  other 
magnates  of  the  realm.  The  Archbishop  of  Bourges 
explained  with  great  vigour  and  clearness  the  offers 
of  the  French  government  in  territory  and  money. 
The  speech  created  a  good  impression,  although  the 
terms  being  little  or  no  better  than  those  formerly 
offered,  were  unacceptable  to  Henry.  After  this 
speech  the  French  envoys  dined  with  the  king.  On 
one  of  the  following  days,  the  king's  reply  was  given 
by  the  mouth  of  Henry  Chichele,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury.  The  conclusion  of  the  answer  was  that 
peace  wouJd  be  made  if  the  French  would  cede 
Aquitaine,  Normandy,  Anjou,  Touraine  and  certain 

*  Proc.  of  Privy  Council,  II,  155-7. 
^  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  282. 


116  HENRY  V  [1415 

other  counties.  King  Henry,  standing  by,  added 
that  Chichele  had  spoken  truly.  At  this  the  fiery 
Archbishop  of  Bourges  broke  out  into  defiant  speech, 
saying  that  the  offers  ah-eady  made  by  the  French 
had  been  made  not  out  of  fear,  but  only  to  prevent 
the  shedding  of  innocent  or  Christian  blood.  And  he 
added  that  with  the  help  of  God  and  the  Virgin,  Henry 
would  be  driven  out  of  France  or  be  captured  or  die 
there.  The  king  received  these  defiant  words  with 
equanimity,  and  dismissed  the  envoys  with  a  safe 
conduct  and  handsome  presents.^ 

Nothing  now  remained  but  to  complete  the 
mobilisation  of  the  army.  Although  the  truce  with 
France  was  prolonged  by  short  periods  till  15  July, 
yet  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  year  most  of  the 
noblemen  of  England  had  been  specially  retained 
and  paid  for  the  king's  service.  For  although  the 
nobility  were  bound  to  serve  the  king  in  arms  by 
reason  of  their  feudal  tenure  of  land,  yet  this  obliga- 
tion only  extended  to  forty  days  each  year  ;  so  that 
for  an  expedition  which  was  to  last  longer,  the  king 
had  to  make  a  special  agreement  with  his  barons  and 
knights  and  to  retain  their  services  by  payment.  By 
an  agreement  made  in  November,  1414,  the  king 
had  arranged  to  pay  the  barons  from  the  beginning 
of  the  expedition,  and  thereafter  for  an  entire  year. 
Although  the  invasion  of  France  did  not  actually 
take  place  till  August,  yet  the  nobles  were  considered 
to  be  under  arms  from  April.     By  the  terms  of  his 

1  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  I,  216-8  ; '  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  175-8. 


I4IS]  THE  FRENCH  WAR  117 

agreement,  the  king  had  to  pay  them  for  the  first 
quarter  of  the  year's  service  at  the  beginning  of  the 
expedition,  and  for  the  second  and  third  quarters  at 
the  end  of  the  second.  Accordingly,  the  first  payment 
was  duly  made  in  April.  But  the  king  found  that 
there  would  not  be  sufficient  money  in  the  treasury 
to  pay  the  nobles  for  the  second  and  third  quarters 
together  ;  so  he  had  to  ask  the  lords  to  waive  their 
right  to  payment  in  advance  and  to  accept  their 
wages  at  the  end  of  each  quarter.  This  the  lords 
agreed  to,  and  received  the  warm  thanks  of  the  king.* 
The  expeditionary  force  was  raised  by  contracts 
with  individual  barons  and  knights.  There  were 
three  different  ways  of  collecting  an  army  in  medieval 
England.  One  was  by  calling  out  the  feudal  levy, 
which  consisted  of  all  men  who  held  their  lands  by 
military  tenure.  These  were  bound  to  serve  for  forty 
days  each  year  and  might  be  called  on  to  stay  at 
home  or  to  go  abroad.  The  second  method  was  to 
call  out  all  freemen,  to  "  array  "  them  according  to 
the  arms  they  were  legally  bound  to  carry,  and  to 
choose  as  many  of  them  as  were  required  for  the  king's 
service  at  the  time.  But  the  men  thus  raised  by 
"  commissions  of  array  "  could  not  in  strict  law  be 
required  to  serve  anywhere  out  of  England.  Neither 
the  feudal  levy  nor  the  host  of  freemen  was  suitable 
for  a  prolonged  French  war,  so  Henry  V  left  them  for 
the  defence  of  England  while  he  was  away.^    For  his 

1  Proc.  of  the  Privy  Council,  II,  151. 

^  Cp.  Rji^ner,  Foedera,  IX,  253-4,   "  de   arraiatione  facienda," 
28  August,  1415. 


118  HENRY  V  [1415 

expeditionary  force  he  used  the  third  method,  that 
of  raising  men  under  a  voluntary  system,  by  contract 
or  "  indenture." 

By  these  indentures  the  king  contracted  with 
particular  nobles  or  knights  to  give  their  own  services 
to  him  and  also  to  provide  a  stated  number  of  men-at- 
arms,  archers  and  so  forth.  The  indenture  fixed  the 
rate  of  remuneration  for  the  contracting  noble  or 
officer,  and  also  the  daily  rate  of  wages  for  the  men  he 
was  to  provide.  The  total  sum  of  money  was  paid 
quarterly  to  the  officer,  who  then  disbursed  the  wages 
to  his  men  and  was  responsible  for  their  payment. 

The  pay  of  contracting  officers  and  of  nearly  all  the 
soldiers  varied  according  to  their  social,  not  according 
to  their  military  rank.  A  duke  (there  were  only 
royal  dukes  at  this  time)  was  allowed  13s.  4d.  for  each 
day  ;  an  earl  5s.  3d.  ;  a  knight  banneret  4s. ;  a  simple 
knight  (or  "  chevalier  ")  2s.  ;  an  esquire  12d.  These 
formed  the  "  men-at-arms,"  that  is,  the  heavy 
armoured  cavalry.  Thus  the  indenture  made  between 
the  king  and  his  brother  the  Duke  of  Clarence  states 
that  the  duke  will  keep  for  a  complete  year  240  men- 
at-arms,  including  himself.  In  addition,  he  was  to 
provide  720  "  archers  on  horse."  These  latter  were 
to  receive  6d.  each  day.^  Sometimes  the  contractor 
was  bound  to  keep  simple  archers,  not  horsed.  But 
this  seems  to  have  made  no  difference  to  the  archers' 
pay.  The  horses  were  only  to  help  them  to  get  about 
the  country,  not  for  use  in  battle.    In  addition  to  his 

^  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  227. 


I4IS]  THE  FRENCH  WAR  119 

daily  pay,  the  contracting  officer  received  a  "  regard  " 
or  bounty  of  100  marks  (£66  13s.  4d.)  for  every  thirty 
men-at-arms  that  he  raised.  The  king  also  bound 
himself  to  provide  at  his  own  cost  shipping  to  take  the 
men,  their  horses,  armour,  and  victuals  to  and  from 
the  Continent.  A  duke  was  allowed  to  bring  50 
horses  for  himself,  an  earl  24,  a  knight  banneret  6,  a 
chevalier  6,  an  esquire  4  and  a  horse-archer  1.  Every- 
one had  to  provide  his  own  horses.  Also  the  men  had 
to  provide  their  own  victuals  ;  no  mention  of  the 
king's  providing  food  is  made  in  any  of  the  indentures. 
The  pay  of  the  men  was  sufficiently  generous  to 
enable  them  to  provide  food  for  themselves.  When 
markets  failed  victuals  might  be  requisitioned  in  the 
invaded  districts.  However,  the  king  did  provide 
some  form  of  commissariat.  There  are  writs  in  the 
first  part  of  1415  in  which  the  king  orders  carts  and 
live-stock  to  be  collected  for  the  army  invading 
France.  This  commissariat  would  be  used  for  any  of 
the  various  emergencies  that  might  happen  in  the 
course  of  the  campaign. 

An  important  part  of  each  indenture  is  the  clause 
respecting  booty  and  prisoners.  All  prisoners  were 
to  belong  to  the  captors,  who  would  thus  make  all  the 
profit  out  of  the  ransom.  But  this  rule  did  not  apply 
to  the  French  king,  or  his  son,  or  chief  officers. 
These  were  to  be  given  up  to  the  English  king,  who 
would  then  pay  a  suitable  compensation  to  the 
captor.  The  king  was  to  get  one-third  part  of  the 
share  of  booty  which  fell  to  each  contracting  officer. 


120  HENRY  V  [1415 

For,  out  of  the  booty  taken  by  his  men,  the  officer 
received  one-third,  which  he  then  had  to  divide  with 
the  king.  The  gains  of  the  king  were  all  to  be  ac- 
counted for  at  the  royal  exchequer.  The  king  was  to 
share  in  all  gains,  both  of  prisoners  and  booty,  of 
more  than  ten  marks'  value.  ^ 

The  contractors  had  to  have  their  troops  mustered, 
mostly  in  May,  in  some  cases  in  June.  Meanwhile  the 
king  was  busy  arranging  for  transport  and  other 
necessaries.  A  great  deal  of  thought  went  towards 
this  war,  and  the  details  were  personally  overseen 
by  the  king  and  admirably  organised.  Shipping 
was  a  prime  necessity.  The  royal  navy  at  this  time 
scarcely  existed.  When  ships  were  needed  the 
government  was  in  the  habit  of  commissioning  them 
for  the  particular  purpose  in  view,  and  dismissing  them 
when  the  purpose  was  accomplished.  There  were  two 
main  ways  of  procuring  ships  :  one  was  by  contract 
and  the  other  was  by  seizure.  Henry  V  adopted  both 
means.  In  March  and  April,  1415,  he  sent  officers 
over  to  Holland  to  contract  with  the  masters  for  the 
loan  of  their  ships  to  the  king.  The  officers  were 
empowered  to  make  all  the  necessary  arrangements 
regarding  the  amount  of  time  the  ships  were  to  be  at 
the  disposal  of  the  king  and  the  sum  of  money  to  be 
paid  for  their  hire.  The  masters  and  owners  were  to 
bring  the  ships  to  London,  Sandwich  and  Winchelsea, 
there  to  hand  them  over  to  the  king's  men. 

English  ships  were  summarily  seized  for  the  king's 

1  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  232. 


I4I5]  THE  FRENCH  WAR  121 

service.  In  April  the  king  gave  authority  to  Nicholas 
Manduyt,  a  sergeant-at-arms,  to  arrest  all  ships  with 
a  capacity  of  twenty  casks  or  more  lying  in  the 
Thames  and  in  any  other  harbours  northwards  up  to 
and  including  Newcastle.  These  arrested  ships  were 
to  be  brought  by  8  May  to  Southampton,  Win- 
chelsea,  Sandwich,  London.  Another  officer  was 
authorised  to  arrest  for  the  king's  use  all  ships  with  a 
capacity  of  twenty  casks  or  more  lying  in  harbours 
south  and  west  from  the  Thames  to  Bristol.  In  the 
same  way,  mariners  were  pressed  to  man  such  ships. ^ 
Pressed  sailors  were  paid  wages  at  the  usual  rate  of 
3|d.  a  day,  together  with  a  bounty  of  6d.  a  week  i^  but 
no  compensation  was  made  to  the  owners  of  arrested 
ships  ;  these  were  only  secured  against  total  loss 
while  in  the  king's  service. 

The  ships  in  the  king's  service  were  brought 
together  in  no  less  than  four  ways.  There  were  firstly 
the  royal  ships  owned  by  the  king  ;  these  were  "  la 
Katerine  de  la  Toure,"  "  la  Trinite  Royale,"  "  la 
petite  Trinite  de  la  Toure,"  "  la  Gabriell  de  la  Toure," 
"  la  petite  Marie  de  la  Toure,"  "  la  rude  Cog  de  la 
Toure."  ^  Next  tliere  were  the  ships  provided  by 
the  Cinque  Ports  according  to  their  charters.  Then 
there  were  ships  specially  hired,  for  instance,  from 
Hollanders  for  the  king's  service.  Finally,  there  were 
private  ships  impressed  by  royal  commissioners. 

1  Foedera,  IX,  219-38. 

'^  Black  Book  of  the  Admiralty,  I,  12. 

3  Foedcia,  IX,  238. 


122  HENRY  V  [1415 

The  fleet  thus  assembled,  in  the  Thames,  at  Win- 
chelsea,  Sandwich,  Southampton,  Portsmouth,  had  to 
carry  a  great  army.  There  were  2500  men-at-arms 
and  8000  archers.  In  addition  there  was  a  large 
number  of  non-combatants,  carpenters,  smiths  and 
others  necessary  for  a  war  in  which  towns  had  to  be 
captured,  forts  built,  as  well  as  much  technical  work 
done  in  the  daily  camp  of  the  army.  There  were 
physicians  and  surgeons  at  a  shilling  a  day,  and 
minstrels  to  be  paid  "  what  is  usual."  ^  In  all,  the 
total  number  of  people  who  followed  Henry  V  to 
Normandy  may  have  reached  about  30,000  men. 

The  expense  of  getting  together  so  large  an  army 
was  enormous.  The  ordinary  revenues  of  the  king 
and  the  special  grants  of  parliament  proved  quite 
insufficient.  Funds  ran  out  in  the  second  quarter  of 
the  year,  three  months  before  the  expedition  sailed. 
On  30  May  the  king  was  obliged  to  pledge  his  jewels. 
These  were  given  into  the  custody  of  the  Bishop  of 
Norwich  as  trustee,  on  the  condition  that  they  were 
to  return  to  the  king  if  at  any  time  within  the  next 
year  and  a  half  he  should  be  able  to  satisfy  the  claims 
for  overdue  pay.  It  was  the  contracting  nobles  who 
suffered  in  this  way.  Their  men  would  generally 
have  to  get  daily  pay  from  their  officers  by  some 
means  or  other. 

Many  expedients  were  adopted  to  raise  money. 
The  credit  of  the  king  was  pledged  as  far  as  it  would 
go  ;  loans  were  raised  wherever  possible,  and  the 
^  Ibid.,  IX,  253. 


I4IS]  THE  FRENCH  WAR  128 

loyalty  of  his  subjects  was  strained  by  pressure  from 
the  king.  A  good  instance  of  the  way  in  which  loans 
were  raised  from  Englishmen  is  seen  in  a  writ  dated 
from  Reading  on  10  May,  in  which  the  king  requests 
those  to  whom  his  representatives  apply,  to  lend  him 
such  sums  of  money  as  these  officers  are  authorised 
to  demand.  Security  for  repayment  of  the  loan  is 
promised,  but  not  specified.  The  wording  of  the 
writ  is  curt  and  decisive,  and  must  have  convinced 
everyone  who  heard  it  that  the  lending  of  money  was 
not  optional.^  Undoubtedly  these  were  forced  loans, 
but  it  was  equally  clear  that  the  king  meant  to  pay 
them  back  punctually.  On  7,  8,  11,  16  June  there 
are  writs  directing  that  repajnnent  of  certain  loans 
be  made  "  after  the  feast  of  St.  John  the  Baptist," 
that  is  24  June.  In  the  case  of  each  loan  repayment 
is  to  be  made  out  of  the  dues  in  certain  "  ports  "  : 
Sandwich,  Ipswich  and  Boston.  The  loans  are  for 
small  sums  :  the  men  of  Canterbury  had  lent 
£66  13s.  4d.  ;  the  men  of  Sudbury  £36  13s.  4d.  ; 
the  city  and  county  of  Bristol  £240  ;  the  Bishop 
of  Hereford  £100  ;  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  £40.  These 
were  to  receive  back  the  principal  of  their  loans, 
but  there  is  no  mention  of  interest  or  consideration 
for  the  use  of  the  principal.* 

Foreign  merchants  trading  in  England  also  con- 
tributed. Paul  de  Melan,  merchant  of  Lucca,  lent 
£133  6s.  8d. ;  Nicholas  de  Malyn  and  his  company, 

1  Ibid.,  IX,  241 
«  Ihid.,  268-9. 


124  HENRY  V  [1415 

merchants  of  Venice,  lent  £666  13s.  4d.  ;  Laurentius 
de  Albertis  and  others,  merchants  of  Florence,  lent  the 
same  amount.  English  merchants  were  probably 
taxed  through  the  customs  as  heavily  as  they  could 
bear  ;  but  after  the  expedition  had  sailed,  Richard 
Whittington,  the  famous  Londoner,  lent  £466  13s.  4d., 
and  sent  the  money  over  to  Harfleur,  a  very 
welcome  help  to  the  king  in  carrying  on  the 
siege. 

It  required  more  than  every  penny  which  the  king 
had  to  keep  his  army  on  foot  till  the  expedition 
sailed.  It  is  clear  that  in  many  cases  he  could  not 
pay  his  indentured  nobles  at  all.  Instead,  he  had  to 
promise  payment  at  a  future  date,  e.g.  1  January, 
1416,  and  to  pledge  even  his  crown  as  security,  with 
the  condition  that  if  payment  was  not  made  by  1 
January,  1416,  the  noble  could  sell  the  jewels  of  the 
crown  without  any  impediment  from  the  king  dnd  his 
heirs.  ^ 

At  last  the  expedition  was  ready  to  sail.  South- 
ampton seems  to  have  been  the  chief  port  of  em- 
barkation, but  ships  were  also  waiting  at  neighbouring 
harbours.  Then  the  unexpected  happened ;  the 
popular  young  king,  busy  with  the  details  of  an 
expedition  against  the  hereditary  foe  of  England,  was 
suddenly  faced  with  a  great  conspiracy.  The  head  of 
it  was  Richard,  Earl  of  Cambridge,  although  one 
chronicler  seems  to  think  that  the  idea  originated  with 
Sir  Henry  le  Scrope.  The  conspiracy  was  quickly 
1  Ibid.,  284-6. 


I4IS]  THE  FRENCH  WAR  125 

crushed,  and  is  only  significant  as  showing  that  in  no 
reign  was  the  Lancastrian  title  unchallenged.  Arising 
at  the  time  it  did — it  is  said  to  have  been  the  very 
night  before  the  expedition  was  to  sail  ^ — the 
conspiracy  must  have  been  a  severe  shock  to  the 
ambitious  young  monarch  ;  but  with  the  inflexibility 
of  will  which  characterised  him,  he  did  not  allow  the 
dynastic  danger  to  make  any  alteration  in  his  plans 
for  invading  France.  Indeed,  the  only  safe  course  was 
to  go  on  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

Richard  of  Cambridge,  as  the  son  of  Edmund,  Duke 
of  York,  and  grandson  of  Edward  III,  had  a  sort  of 
hereditary  claim  to  the  throne,  which  claim,  however, 
he  had  never  advanced.  According  to  the  confession 
which  he  made  about  5  August,  after  the  discovery 
of  the  conspiracy,  he  with  Sir  Henry  le  Scrope  and 
Sir  Thomas  Grey  had  arranged  with  the  Earl  of 
March  that  the  latter  should  be  taken  away  into 
Wales  and  proclaimed  king  there.  Thus  Richard 
was  not  claiming  the  crown  for  himself.  A  certain 
David  Howell  had  promised  to  deliver  up  some  royal 
castles  in  North  Wales  ;  and  two  northern  gentlemen, 
Umfraville  and  Wederington,  had  planned  to  bring 
the  Scots  over  the  border.  ^  At  the  same  time, 
Oldcastle  and  the  Lollards,  as  if  by  arrangement,^  were 
beginning  to  threaten  to  rise.  It  was  suspected,  too, 
that   the   French   government   had   encouraged   the 

'  Holinshed,  Chronicle,  548.  The  conspiracy  was  discovered  on 
20  July, 

2  Foedem,  IX,  300-1. 

'  Walsingham,  op,  cit.,  II,  306 


126  HENRY  V  [1415 

conspiracy  with  money,  so  as  to  delay  or  altogether 
arrest  the  expedition  of  Henry  V.^ 

Richard  of  Cambridge  communicated  his  design  to 
the  Earl  of  March,  who  is  said  to  have  taken  the 
matter  into  consideration  for  a  night  and  then  to 
have  informed  the  king.*  A  com-t  of  peers  was  set  up 
at  Southampton  on  5  August,  and  the  Duke  of 
Clarence,  the  king's  brother,  sat  at  the  head  of  it. 
The  king  took  no  part  in  the  trial :  Richard  of  Cam- 
Inidge,  Scrope  and  Grey  were  found  guilty  of  treason 
and  were  decapitated.^  It  was  owing  to  the  mercy  of 
the  king  that  they  did  not  suffer  the  disgraceful 
penalty  of  hanging. 

The  Earl  of  Cambridge  had  signed  his  confession  to 
the  king  at  Southampton  on  5  August,  and  the 
execution  must  have  followed  shortly  after.  Six  days 
later,  11  August,  the  king  sailed  for  France.  He  had 
already  made  his  will  on  24  July,  at  Southampton. 
It  is  a  simple,  pious  document,  ending  with  a  sub- 
scription in  the  king's  own  hand  :  "  This  is  my 
last  will  subscribed  with  my  own  hand  R.  H.  Jesu 
Mercy  and  Gremercy  Ladle  Marie  help."  *  On 
the  day  of  his  departure,  he  signed  a  commission 
appointing  his  second  brother,  John,  Duke  of  Bedford, 
to  be  Warden  and  Lieutenant  of  England^  during 
his    absence.      On    the    same    dav*    he    sailed    from 


^  Ibid.  ;  Memorials  of  Henry  V,  41.  '  Waurin.  op.  cit.,  182. 

=  Walsingham,  op.  cit..  II,  306.  «  Foedera,  IX,  293. 

^  Ibid..  305.  "  Cvistodem  et  locum  nostrum  tenentem." 

'  Memoriala  of  Henry  V>  106. 


I4I5]  THE  FRENCH  WAR  127 

Portsmouth,  and  picking  up  the  rest  of  his  fleet  which 
had  come  from  the  other  ports,  made  for  the  Norman 
coast.  It  was  calculated  that  he  had  in  all  1500^ 
ships  following  him. 

^  Walsingham,  op.  cit..  IT,  307  ;   Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  I,  218,  says 
1600  ;   Waurin,  op.  cit.,  184,  aaya  800. 


CHAPTER  VII 

HARFLEUR 

The  only  port  of  France  held  by  the  English  at  this 
time  was  Calais,  which  offered  a  safe  entry  to  English 
ships,  and  also  was  near  the  Flemish  domains  of  the 
friendly  Duke  of  Burgundy.  But  king  Henry  did  not 
intend  to  invade  France  tlirough  Calais.  Instead,  he 
planned  first  to  invade  and  conquer  Normandy,  the 
old  duchy  of  the  kings  of  England.  The  maritime 
key^  to  Normandy  was  Harfieur,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Seine.  The  king  of  France  had  no  navy  to  stop  the 
English  invasion.  So  Henry  resolved  to  land  near 
Harfleur,  and  after  capturing  it  to  make  it  the  base 
for  a  regular  expansion  of  England  over  the  rest  of 
Normandy.  Although  he  embarked  on  11  August, 
the  passage  was  not  quickly  made,  perhaps  owing  to  a 
fire  which  broke  out  in  three  of  his  vessels,  so  that  he 
did  not  arrive  off  Harfieur  till  the  night  of  14  August. ^ 
His  army  was  disembarked  at  "  Chef  de  Caux,"  a 
small  port  or  probably  fisliing  village  about  three 
miles  below  Harfleur.  This  place,  then  of  the  greatest 
importance,  has  now  become  useless  as  a  port  owing  to 

•   '■  La  clef  8ur  la  mer  de  toute  Normandie  "  ;    Monstrelet,  op. 
cit.,  I,  218. 
»  Ibid. 

128 


i4i5i  HARFLEUR  129 

the  silting  up  of  mud  from  the  Lezarde,  the  small 
stream  on  which  Harfleur  is  situated.  Its  place  has 
been  taken  by  Le  Havre-de-Grace,  which  was  not 
founded  when  Henry  V  landed  at  Chef  de  Caux. 

The  king  took  up  his  lodging  in  a  neighbouring 
priory  (Graville),  and  proceeded  to  invest  Harfleur. 
The  town  was  poorly  garrisoned,  with  400^  men-at- 
arms  who  had  been  sent  by  the  French  government, 
under  the  Seigneur  d'Estouteville.  But  among  these 
men-at-arms  were  soldiers  of  high  family  and  great 
courage,  like  the  Seigneurs  Gaucourt  and  de  I'lsle- 
Adam.  The  townspeople  were  organised  under 
these  gentlemen,  and  a  stout  resistance  was  offered 
to  the  English  as  long  as  it  was  hoped  the  French 
king  might  be  able  to  come  and  relieve  the  town. 

In  a  short  time  the  town  was  completely  invested. 
The  English  army  was  well  equipped  both  with  the 
rude  cannon  that  had  been  in  use  in  Europe  for  about 
fifty  years  and  with  the  very  serviceable  siege- 
engines — catapults,  rams  and  so  forth — which  were 
the  great  weapons  in  early  medieval  sieges.  The 
lines  of  investment  consisted  of  a  trench  and  an 
earthen  rampart,  2  which  enabled  the  besiegers  to  ward 
off  any  sallies  from  the  town  and  also  to  prevent  any 
supplies  being  taken  in.  The  blockade  was  well  kept, 
for  no  communications  took  place  between  the 
besieged  and  the  French  government,  except  with 
the  permission  of  king  Henry.    Although  there  were 

*  Ibid.,  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  185,  says  300. 

•  Memoriala  of  Henry  V,  42. 


130  HENRY  V  [141S 

some  low  hills  in  the  neighbourhood  on  which  the 
great  officers  pitched  their  tents,  ^  the  country 
immediately  round  Harfleur  was  low  and  marshy 
and  the  English  army  suffered  greatly  from  dysentery. 
Victuals  seem  to  have  failed,  for  much  that  came  by 
the  ships  was  spoiled  in  the  passage,  while  the  country- 
side soon  ceased  to  be  able  to  supply  much  food.''  The 
army  of  king  Henry,  like  all  the  English  armies  in 
France,  aimed  at  making  war  support  war.  All 
available  food  was  requisitioned  from  the  rural 
inhabitants.  But  good  discipline  was  to  be  maintained 
and  common  humanity  shown.  For  on  landing  in 
Normandy,  Henry  had  made  a  proclamation  through 
the  army  that  no  churches  should  be  plundered,  no 
priests  ill-treated,  nor  children  hurt,  nor  women 
injured  ;  this  order  was  to  be  observed  by  everyone 
on  pain  of  death. ^  The  intention  of  the  king  was 
good,  but  it  was  impossible  to  supervise  all  the 
soldiers  when  they  were  foraging  ;  it  is  no  surprise 
therefore  to  learn  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  country 
suffered  many  injuries.* 

King  Henry  showed  himself  an  energetic  and  able 
officer  throughout  the  siege.  He  was  continually 
inspecting  the  lines.  Putting  off  all  insignia  of 
royalty,  he  would  go  round  the  town  looking  at  the 
walls,  to  see  how  Harfleur  could  best  be  taken,  and 
where  it  was  most  suitable  to  place  his  large  engines. 

^  T.  Livius,  Vita  Henrici  Quinti,  9. 
^  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  186. 

*  Memoriala  of  Henry  V,  41. 

*  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  185. 


1415]  HARFLEUR  181 

Harfleur  had  two  great  gates,  one  on  the  side  of  the 
estuary,  the  other  on  the  opposite  side  towards 
Montivilliers,  and  from  these  the  besieged  daily  issued 
and  assaulted  the  lines  of  the  great  English  army. 
But  the  English  archery  easily  drove  back  these 
parties,  which  retired  again  behind  the  high  walls  and 
deep  wide  ditches  that  encircled  the  town. 

Meanwhile  the  French  government  showed  some 
activity,  having  a  good  force  collected  at  Rouen  under 
Marshal  Boucicault.  A  convoy  was  sent  with  a 
large  supply  of  powder  and  arrows  to  the  besieged, 
but  king  Henry,  knowing  of  its  approach,  sent  a  force 
which  successfully  intercepted  it  and  captured  the 
powder  and  arrows  for  the  English  army.  Three 
mines  were  made  under  the  wall  of  Harfleur,  and 
under  the  continual  fire  from  the  siege-artillery  the 
gates  and  towers  began  to  show  signs  of  weakness. 
At  last,  a  month  after  the  siege  began,  a  parley  was 
entered  into  between  the  men  of  Harfleur  and  king 
Henry  ;  and  it  was  arranged  that  the  town  would 
capitulate  unless  relieved  within  three  days.  This 
must  have  been  a  welcome  arrangement  to  the 
English  king,  in  whose  army  2000  men  had  already 
died  of  dysentery.^  The  conditions  in  the  camp  were 
frightful.  The  remains  of  the  cattle  which  were 
slaughtered  for  the  daily  food  of  the  army  lay  around 
and  rotted  in  the  camp  and  corrupted  the  air.  The 
soldiers  pillaged  the  country  orchards,  and  the  apples 
which  they  ate  only  aggravated  the  disease.     The 

1  Ibid.,  186. 


132  HENRY  V  [1415 

nights  were  cold  and  in  the  low,  damp  country  round 
the  town  the  health  of  the  army  went  from  bad  to 
worse. ^  Nevertheless,  king  Henry  put  a  good  face 
on  the  matter,  and  showed  no  desire  for  peace  when 
the  townsmen  came  to  parley  with  him.  This  was  on 
18  September.  The  commanders  of  Harfleur,  the 
Seigneurs  d'Estouteville  and  Gaucourt,sent  a  sergeant- 
at-arms  to  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  praying  him  to  use 
his  good  offices  with  his  brother  the  king  in  favour 
of  peace.  The  Duke  j^re vailed  upon  the  king  to  open 
formal  communications.  The  French  commanders 
asked  for  a  truce  till  Michaelmas  Day,  which  was 
a  Sunday.  If  no  support  came  from  the  outside  by 
that  time,  they  would  surrender  on  condition  that 
their  lives  and  property  were  guaranteed.  The  king 
curtly  replied  that  unless  the  town  surrendered  the 
very  next  day,  the  19th,  without  conditions,  they 
need  never  open  negotiations  again.  But  the  French 
objected  strongly,  and  the  king's  councillors  earnestly 
advised  him  to  modify  his  terms.  At  last  it  was 
arranged  that  a  truce  should  be  permitted  till  the 
following  Sunday,  the  22nd,  at  nine  o'clock.  The 
French  nobles  swore  that  if  by  that  time  no  help 
came  from  the  king  of  France  or  the  Dauphin,  the 
whole  town  would  surrender  without  conditions 
respecting  life  or  property.  Meanwhile  hostages 
were  to  be  given  for  the  keeping  of  the  promise,  and 
an  oath  sworn. 
King  Henry  then  gave  safe-conducts  to  the  French 

^  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  309. 


I4IS]  HARFLEUR  188 

officer,  the  Seigneur  de  Hakevyle,  who  was  to  go  to 
the  camp  of  the  Dauphin,  at  Vernon-sur-Seine,  for 
assistance.  Next  morning,  the  hostages,  knights  and 
citizens,  issued  from  the  city,  a  solemn  procession, 
bearing  the  Eucharist  with  them,  for  the  oath  that 
they  were  to  swear  to  king  Henry.  After  the  oath 
had  been  pubHcly  taken,  they  were  introduced  into 
the  great  tent  of  the  king  and  given  breakfast.  But 
they  did  not  see  the  king.  After  breakfast  they 
were  assigned  to  various  Enghsh  lords  for  safe- 
keeping.^ The  envoys  from  Harfleur  who  went  for 
help  to  the  Dauphin,  found  him  at  Vernon-sur-Seine, 
and  explained  that  Harfleur  must  be  relieved  in  three 
days  or  surrender  unconditionally.  To  this  "  it  was 
gently  answered  that  the  forces  of  the  king  of  France 
were  not  yet  collected  or  ready  to  afford  them  succour 
so  hastily."  ^  So  they  returned,  faithful  to  their 
arrangement,  on  Sunday,  22  September,  and  Harfleur 
was  surrendered. 

On  the  next  day  the  king  made  his  entry.  It  is 
said  that  when  he  came  to  the  gate  of  the  town,  he 
dismounted  from  his  horse,  took  off  his  shoes  and 
went  barefoot  to  the  church  of  St.  Martin's  to  pray 
and  return  thanks  for  his  success. ^  The  officers  of 
the  garrison  and  the  more  important  men  of  the  town 
were  kept  as  prisoners  to  be  ransomed  ;  the  rest  of 
the  inhabitants  were  divided  into  two  lots  :    one  lot 

1  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  IT,  308-9. 
^  Waurin,  op.  cit,,  187. 
3  Saint-Remy,  I,  229. 


184  HENRY  V  [1415 

were  allowed  to  swear  allegiance  to  king  Henry, 
and  to  stay  in  the  town  ;  the  others  to  the  number 
of  2000,^  consisting  chiefly  of  women  and  children, 
were  sent  away  "  to  the  interior  parts  of  France." 
They  left  their  homes,  weeping  for  their  fate. 
The  king  had  them  escorted  up  the  right  bank 
of  the  Seine  as  far  at  Lillebonne,  so  that  they 
should  not  be  molested  by  the  soldiery.  At  Lillebonne 
they  were  taken  over  by  officials  of  the  French  crown 
and  conducted  to  Marshal  Boucicault,  who  was  in 
command  at  Rouen.  The  expulsion  of  the  poor 
inhabitants  of  Harfleur  is  a  piteous  story,  yet  French 
chroniclers  commend  Henry  for  his  humanity  on  this 
occasion.  He  did  not  give  them  up  to  the  horrors  of 
the  sack,  and  he  allowed  the  women  to  take  what 
property  they  could  carry  away.' 

Harfleur  was  to  become  an  English  town  like  Calais, 
peopled  by  Englishmen.  A  proclamation  was  ordered 
to  be  made  in  London  (and  no  doubt  in  other  towns) 
asking  for  men  to  come  over  and  to  fix  their  homes 
in  Harfleur,  where  they  would  be  allowed  to  take  up 
houses  without  payment.  The  English  colonisation 
was  not  very  successful  ;  a  fair  number  of  the  old 
French  inhabitants  must  have  remained,  for  in  1435 
the  recapture  of  the  town  by  the  French  was  due  to 
support  given  by  their  compatriots  within. 

Before  proceeding  further  with  his  enterprise,  the 
king  sent  the  "  Guienne  Herald  "  to  the  Dauphin, 

*  Oeata  Henrici  Quinti,  33. 

*  Religieux  de  St.  Denys,  V,  544. 


I4IS]  HARFLEUR  135 

probably  at  Vernon,  challenging  him  to  single  combat, 
so  that  the  war  might  be  ended  and  great  effusion  of 
blood  saved.  Eight  days  were  allowed  for  the 
Dauphin  to  reply,  but  there  was  no  answer. 

Meanwhile  the  king  had  held  a  council  of  his  barons 
and  had  put  to  them  the  question  :  should  the  army 
return  by  sea  to  England,  or  should  it  push  forward 
through  the  land  of  Normandy  to  Calais  ?  The 
majority  of  the  council,  considering  the  great  losses 
which  the  army  had  sustained,  the  number  of  sick 
who  must  in  any  case  return  to  England,  and  the 
large  forces  which  the  Dauphin  was  known  to  have 
collected,  advised  that  Henry  should  withdraw  his 
forces  from  France,  leaving  only  the  garrison  of 
Harfleur  to  uphold  his  power  for  the  present.  This 
decision  must  have  troubled  the  king,  for  although  he 
was  an  experienced  soldier  and  general,  yet  it  is  no 
easy  thing  for  a  man  of  twenty-eight  years  to  reject 
the  advice  of  all  the  experienced  and  senior  officers 
of  the  army.  Yet  he  seems  not  to  have  hesitated  for 
a  moment.  Being  used  to  making  decisions  and  to 
facing  responsibility,  he  stated  his  view  shortly  and 
clearly  to  the  council  :  "I  have  a  great  desire  to  see 
my  lands  and  places  that  should  be  mine  by  right. 
Let  them  assemble  their  greatest  armies,  there  is 
hope  in  God  that  they  will  hurt  neither  my  army  nor 
me.  I  will  not  suffer  them,  puffed  up  with  pride,  to 
rejoice  in  misdeeds,  nor  unjustly,  against  God,  to 
possess  my  goods.  They  would  say  that  through  fear 
I  had  fled  away,  acknowledging  the  injustice  of  my 


136  HENRY  V  [.415 

cause.  But  I  have  a  mind,  my  brave  men,  to  encounter 
all  dangers,  rather  than  let  them  brand  your  king  with 
word  of  ill-will.  With  the  favour  of  God,  we  will  go 
unhurt  and  inviolate,  and,  if  they  attempt  to  stay  us, 
victorious  and  triumphant  in  all  glory."  ^ 

With  these  brave  words  the  king  made  known  his 
decision.  It  was  the  greatest  crisis  of  his  reign.  For 
had  he  returned  to  England,  with  a  decimated  army 
and  overwhelmed  with  debt,  he  could  not  have 
escaped  bankruptcy,  nor,  what  is  worse,  a  loss  of 
confidence  among  the  people,  which  would  have 
more  than  shaken  the  unstable  Lancastrian  throne. 
So  he  took  the  heroic  decision  to  go  forward  and  win 
another  realm  to  add  to  England,  or  to  die  at  the  head 
of  his  men,  fighting  in  the  heart  of  France.  Leaving 
his  uncle,  the  Earl  of  Dorset,  in  command  at  Harfleur 
with  1200  men,  he  set  out  on  8  October,  with  his 
little  army,  "  in  three  divisions  and  two  squadrons, 
as  was  the  habit  of  the  English."  ^  it  was  a  desperate 
venture,  which  speaks  volumes  not  merely  for  the 
determination  of  the  king,  but  also  of  the  men  who 
ungrudgingly  followed  him  against  their  own  judg- 
ment. There  was  a  curious  buoyancy  in  the  English- 
men of  those  days.  Their  fathers  had  followed  the 
Black  Prince  and  John  of  Gaunt  through  the  length 
and  breadth  of  France  ;  now  they  themselves  were 
ready  to  plunge  into  that  populous  kingdom,  not  as 
it  seems  in  any  vainglorious  belief  in  the  superiority 


»  T.  Livius,  op.  cit.,  12. 

*  Ibid.,  cp.  Qcs:a  Ilenricl  Quinii, 


3G. 


I4I5]  HARFLEUR  137 

of  the  English,  but  with  the  indifference  of  men  to 
whom  war  is  on  a  footing  with  any  other  means  of 
hvehhood  and  for  whom  death  has  no  terror. 

The  army  was  nothing  more  than  a  flying  column 
of  900  lances  and  5000  archers.^  For  many  had  died 
of  sickness  during  the  siege,  even  well-cared-for 
nobles  like  the  Bishop  of  Norwich  and  the  Earl  of 
Suffolk.  Others,  no  less  than  5000,  including  some  of 
the  king's  barons,  his  brother  the  Duke  of  Clarence, 
and  the  Earls  of  March  and  Arundel  were  so  ill  that 
they  had  to  be  sent  back  to  England.  Besides  the 
losses,  it  is  said  that  desertions  had  not  been  in- 
frequent during  the  siege,  so  that  altogether  the  king's 
fighting  men  were  reduced  to  less  than  half  their 
original  number.  Each  man  was  to  carry  with  him 
food  for  eight  days.  The  distance  between  Harfleur 
and  Calais,  with  hostile  forces  said  to  be  converging 
on  every  side,  ^  with  unbanked  rivers  to  cross,  swollen 
by  the  autumn  rains,  could  not  by  any  route  be  less 
than  200  miles. 

1  Qcsta  Henrici  Quinti,  3o.  ^  mi 


CHAPTER    VIII 

AGINCOURT 

Upon  St.  Crispin's  day 
Waa  fought  this  noble  fray, 
Which  fame  did  not  delay 
To  England  to  carry. 
O  when  shall  Englishmen 
With  such  acts  fill  a  pen. 
Or  England  breed  again 
Such  a  King  Harry  ! 

Drayton's  Ballad  of  Agincourt. 

The  march  from  Harfleur  was  remarkably  well 
conducted,  and  is  a  great  testimony  to  the 
powers  of  leadership  of  Henry  V.  The  soldiers  were 
allowed  to  receive  from  the  inhabitants  food  for  the 
day  when  necessary,  but  any  exactions  beyond  this 
limit  were  forbidden  under  pain  of  death,  as  was 
also  the  burning  of  houses  or  the  laying  waste  of 
property.  There  was  very  little  resistance  offered 
to  the  army  as  far  as  the  Somme.  Henry  did  not 
trouble  to  besiege  the  castles  of  Norman  noblemen 
which  lay  in  his  way  ;  he  merely  passed  them  by 
and  left  them  behind  him.  The  little  towns  of 
Normandy,  as  each  was  approached,  were  given  the 
choice  of  being  burned  or  letting  the  English  pass 
quietly  onwards,  with  a  supply  of  provisions  from 

138 


I4I5]  AGINCOURT  189 

the  townspeople.  ^  The  latter  alternative  was  always 
chosen,  and  the  army  pursued  its  way  without  doing 
much  damage  to  the  country.  Indeed  the  country- 
side had  already,  by  the  orders  of  the  French 
governors,  been  stripped  of  most  things  that  the 
English  were  likely  to  want,  so  that  in  spite  of 
Henry's  carefulness  and  sternness,  food  for  horse 
and  man  was  only  obtained  in  meagre  quantities.  ^ 

The  army  left  Harfleur  on  8  October,  1415,  and 
marched  up  the  pleasant  green  valley  of  the  Lezarde, 
taking  the  regular  highway  that  connected  the  most 
northerly  towns  of  what  is  now  called  Seine  Inferieure. 
By  11  October,  the  army  had  reached  the  little 
town  of  Arques,  beside  which  was  a  strong  castle, 
standing  as  medieval  castles  so  often  did,  at  the 
junction  of  two  streams,  the  Bethune  and  the  Eaulne. 
The  town  is  four  miles  to  the  south-east  of  Dieppe. 
Henry  was  here  faced  with  a  difficulty  :  for  the  castle 
was  strong  (it  is  said  to  have  been  thoroughly  fortified 
by  the  English  king  Henry  II),  and  it  commanded 
the  narrow  bridges  over  the  streams,  which  were  too 
deep  for  the  army  to  ford.  Henry  drew  up  the  army 
in  front  of  the  castle  :  the  garrison  replied  by  shoot- 
ing great  stones  at  the  English,  which,  however,  fell 
short.  But  Henry  had  a  plan  for  bringing  the  lord 
of  the  castle  to  reason.  The  little  town  was  in  the 
lordship  of  Arques.  Henry  promised  to  burn  the 
whole  town  and  district,  if  the  lord  did  not  let  him 
pass.     So  it  was  arranged  that  the  English  should 

*  Oesta  Henrici  Quinti,  38.     *  Liviua,  Vita  Henrici  Quinti,  12. 


140  HENRY  V  [1415 

have  free  passage  of  the  bridges,  and  should  also 
receive  a  certain  amount  of  food  and  wine,  while  in 
return  the  town  and  district  should  not  be  laid 
waste.  The  army  then  passed  through  the  town  of 
Arques,  where  they  found  that  the  trunks  of  great 
trees  had  been  laid  across  the  streets,  to  form  barri- 
cades for  a  defence  that  was  not  attempted.^ 

Next  day,  Saturday,  12  October,  the  army  passed 
by  Eu,  half-way  between  Dieppe  and  Abbeville. 
They  left  the  town  about  half  a  mile  on  the  left, 
because  there  was  a  strong  French  force  in  it.  This 
force  sallied  out  and  made  a  dash  at  the  English,  but 
was  driven  back,  not,  however,  without  inflicting 
some  losses  on  its  opponents.  Near  Eu,  the  army 
crossed  the  Bresle,  a  small  stream  which  was  the 
boundary  between  Normandy  and  Picardy.  At  this 
stage  of  the  journey,  a  rumour  spread  through  the 
army  that  all  the  French  forces  were  going  to  give 
battle  to  the  English  on  the  following  day,  Sunday, 
or  else  the  day  after.  The  site  of  the  expected  battle 
was  probably  the  famous  ford  over  the  Somme,  at 
Blanchetaque  below  Abbeville.  But  some  doubt  was 
felt  whether  there  was  a  French  army  in  the  field  at 
all ;  for  it  was  believed  that  the  dissensions  between 
the  party  of  Burgundy  and  Armagnac  were  prevent- 
ing any  organised  resistance  on  the  part  of  the 
French  government.  But  if  Henry  was  relying  for 
his  safety  on  his  alliance  with  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
he  was  taking  a  very  serious  risk. 

*  Geata  Hcnrici  Quinti,  37. 


I4I5]  AGINCOURT  141 

On  14  October,  Henry  and  his  army  arrived  at 
Blanchetaque,  having  marched  at  least  106  miles, 
and  probably  much  further  owing  to  digressions. 
They  had  been  on  the  route  just  over  six  days. 
At  Blanchetaque  the  bridge  was  broken,  and  the  bed 
of  the  river  at  the  ford  defended  by  sharp  wooden 
stakes  and  piles.  ^  There  was,  moreover,  a  strong 
force  of  French  on  the  opposite  side.  So  the  king 
had  to  take  his  army  up  the  left  bank  of  the  river, 
towards  the  interior  of  France,  looking  for  a  ford. 
In  spite  of  the  many  campaigns  the  English  had 
made  in  France,  it  is  clear  that  the  knowledge  of 
French  topography  among  Henry  and  his  officers 
was  of  the  vaguest.  All  that  was  known  was  that 
the  army  could  cross  "  at  the  head  of  the  river  which 
was  said  to  be  distant  more  than  sixty  miles."  ^ 

At  Pont  Remy  the  crossing  was  again  barred,  by 
a  force  under  the  Seigneur  Vaucourt ;  in  the  face  of 
this  Henry  dared  not  try  to  fight  his  way  across,  for 
the  river  at  this  point  was  just  a  broad  marsh. ^  The 
army  was  now  beginning  to  suffer  both  from  hunger 
and  disappointment.  The  eight  days'  rations,  even 
eked  out  by  scanty  supplies  from  the  country-side, 
had  at  last  all  but  given  out.  It  was  impossible  to 
cross  the  Somme,  or  to  force  the  French  to  a  battle, 
or  to  return  to  Harfleur  without  any  food.  The 
country  had  now  been  swept  bare  of  supplies  by  the 

^  Livius,  op.  cit.,  39. 

^  Gesta  Henrici  Quinti,  39. 

»  Ibid.,  40. 


142  HENRY  V  [m^s 

French  ;  it  would  be  useless  to  assault  the  walled 
towns.  No  other  prospect  seemed  at  hand  than  that 
at  length  the  French  forces  should  gather  round  a 
famished  feeble  army,  and  crush  it  almost  without  a 
blow.  The  chaplains  and  rough  soldiers  knelt  down 
and  raised  their  clasped  hands  to  heaven,  imploring 
God  to  save  from  the  hands  of  the  French  the  English 
king  and  people  "  who  wanted  peace  not  war,"  and 
to  bring  them,  to  his  honour  and  glory,  in  triumph  to 
Calais.  "  Thence,  without  hope  we  next  day  took  the 
road  towards  the  head  of  the  river,  leaving  Amiens 
about  a  league  on  our  left."  ^ 

At  Boves  the  army  was  comforted  by  getting  wine 
and  bread  and  an  unhindered  passage  over  the 
little  river  Noye,  a  tributary  of  the  Somme.  Boves, 
although  in  Picardy,  belonged  to  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy, who,  like  all  medieval  feudatories,  had  estates 
beyond  the  limits  of  his  duchy.  In  spite  of  the 
peace  between  England  and  Burgundy,  the  captain 
of  Boves  Castle  showed  signs  of  opposing  Henry, 
until  the  king  threatened  to  burn  the  town  and  its 
vineyards.  The  men  were  wearied  and  in  want ;  they 
indulged  too  freely  in  the  wine,  so  Henry  forbade 
them  even  to  carry  any  away  in  their  bottles,  saying, 
they  had  made  bottles  of  their  bellies.  ^  On  17 
October,  a  sharp  skirmish  occurred  with  a  French 
contingent  which  was  stationed  at  Corbie.  But  the 
French  were  driven  back  to  the  town  with  some  loss 

1  Ihid. 

»  Ibid.,  41,  note  3. 


I4I5]  AGINCOURT  148 

on  both  sides.  That  night  Henry  hung  a  soldier  who 
had  stolen  from  a  church  a  gilded  cup  in  which  the 
sacrament  was  kept.  However  dangerous  was  the 
situation  of  the  king,  he  would  allow  no  licence 
among  his  men. 

But  the  army  was  still  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Somme,  and  no  nearer  Calais.  The  country  was 
unknown  and  hostile  ;  to  the  fearful  known  dangers 
that  overhung  the  devoted  little  army,  were  added 
the  trials  of  uncertainty.  For  it  was  not  known 
where  the  main  forces  of  the  French  were,  whether 
they  were  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Somme  or  near 
by  on  the  left.  On  the  17th,  the  same  day  on  which 
the  skirmish  with  the  men  from  Corbie  took  place, 
it  was  believed  that  a  large  force  of  French  cavalry 
was  at  hand,  and  about  to  attack  the  English.  It 
was  to  meet  this  expected  onslaught  that  the  defence 
of  sharpened  stakes  was  adopted  for  the  archers, — 
a  defence  which  although  not  used  on  this  day,  was 
adopted  with  great  success  in  the  next  week  at 
Agincourt.  "  The  king  made  an  order  throughout 
the  whole  army,  that  each  archer  should  prepare  and 
fashion  for  himself  one  stake  or  stave,  square  or 
round,  six  feet  in  length,  and  of  proportionate 
breadth,  sharpened  at  each  end,  commanding  that 
whenever  the  army  of  the  French  should  approach, 
to  give  battle  and  to  break  the  stations  of  the  archers 
by  means  of  their  squadrons  of  horse,  each  man  should 
fix  his  stake  in  front  before  him,  and  others  should 
fix  their  stakes  intermediately  between  the  rest  but 


144  HENRY  V  [1415 

a  little  further  back, — one  end  to  be  fixed  in  the 
ground,  the  other  to  slope  upwards  towards  the 
enemy,  at  the  height  of  a  little  more  than  the  middle 
of  a  man  ;  so  that  when  the  charging  cavalry  came 
near,  they  should  be  terrified  by  the  sight  of  the 
stakes,  and  withdraw,  or  else,  reckless  of  their  own 
safety,  both  horse  and  man  should  imperil  them- 
selves upon  the  stakes."  ^ 

Next  day  the  army  marched  across  country  so  as 
to  cut  off  a  great  bend  which  the  Somme  makes  to 
the  north-east  between  Amiens  and  Ham.  Thus 
leaving  the  river  they  passed  close  to  the  small  town 
of  Nesle,  and  so  were  lost  sight  of  by  the  French 
squadrons  which,  from  the  right  bank  of  the  Somme, 
had  been  keeping  touch  with  their  movements.  The 
English  army  spent  the  night  in  the  neighbouring 
hamlets  of  that  populous  and  fertile  country  ;  and 
as  the  inhabitants  of  Nesle  refused  to  pay  a  ransom 
for  the  immunity  of  the  neighbourhood,  Henry,  next 
morning,  19  October,  had  the  homesteads  burned. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  the  king  learned  (probably 
from  some  peasants  anxious  only  that  the  English 
should  go  away)  of  the  existence  of  a  ford  over  the 
Somme  about  three  miles  away.  Sending  some 
horsemen  on  in  front  to  test  the  crossing,  he  followed 
as  quickly  as  possible.  To  get  to  the  ford  the  army 
had  to  cross  a  mile  of  marshy  country  in  an  angle 
formed  by  the  Somme  and  a  small  tributary.  It  was 
a  most  dangerous  situation,  but  luckily  there  was  no 

1  Ibid.,  42. 


I4I5]  AGINCOURT  145 

French  force  at  hand  to  make  an  attack.  When 
they  reached  the  river  they  found  the  Somme  fordable 
in  two  places  called  the  fords  of  Voyennes  and  Bethen- 
court,^  the  depth  of  the  water  being  just  a  little 
higher  than  the  belly  of  a  horse.  The  fords  were 
approached  by  two  causeways,  which  the  French 
had  broken  up  to  prevent  their  being  used  by  the 
English.  It  was  just  possible  for  horsemen  to  get 
along  the  causeways  in  single  file.  Henry  accord- 
ingly sent  across  two  knights,  John  Cornwall  and 
Gilbert  Unfraville,  with  a  few  "  lances  "  and  foot- 
archers,  to  hold  the  passage.  The  rest  of  the  army 
was  set  to  fill  up  the  breaches  in  the  causeways  with 
timber,  faggots  and  straw,  brought  for  the  purpose 
from  the  homesteads  of  the  district.  When  the 
repairs  were  sufficiently  carried  out,  the  baggage  of 
the  army  was  sent  over  by  one  causeway,  the  fighting 
men  by  the  other.  The  king  waited  till  all  had 
crossed,  standing  by  one  of  the  fords,  to  see  that  the 
men  should  cross  in  order,  without  confusion  or 
blocking  each  other ;  the  second  ford  was  also 
watched  by  officers  whom  the  king  had  deputed  for 
the  purpose.  When  only  a  hundred  of  the  English 
had  got  across,  French  horsemen  were  seen  issuing 
from  the  homesteads  within  three  miles  of  the  right 
bank.  They  belonged  to  the  squadrons  that  had  been 
told  off  to  watch  the  English,  and  which  had  tem- 
porarily lost  sight  of  them.  Now  they  came  hurrying 
up  to  see  if  they  could  still  hold  the  passage.     But 

»  Ibid.,  43,  note  1. 


146  HENRY  V  [1415 

those  who  first  came  near  the  ford  were  met  so 
vigorously  by  the  Enghsh  horsemen  who  had  already 
crossed,  that  they  withdrew  to  collect  their  squadrons 
together.  Then  seeing  how  the  English  were  now 
crossing  in  large  numbers,  and  had  a  fine  level  field 
for  fighting  on  foot,  they  withdrew  out  of  sight.  So 
the  rest  of  the  English  army  came  over  in  peace  ;  the 
total  time  consumed  in  the  crossing  was  from  one 
o'clock  till  nearly  dark. 

That  night  was  happily  passed  by  the  army 
among  the  very  homesteads  from  which  the  French 
horsemen  had  issued  to  hold  the  passage  of  the 
Somme.  Everyone  was  glad  that  the  river  had  been 
crossed  without  the  long  weary  march  to  the  head- 
waters, which  would  have  meant  another  eight  days' 
journeying.  It  was  believed  too  among  the  soldiers, 
that  the  French  army  which  was  supposed  to  be 
Vaiting  for  the  English  at  the  head-waters  of  the 
Somme,  would  not  now  start  and  follow  after  the 
invaders. 

But  a  surprise  met  the  Enghsh  soldiery  next 
morning,  when  three  heralds  came  from  the  Dukes 
of  Orleans  and  Bourbon,  to  inform  king  Henry  that 
the  French  army  would  offer  battle  to  him  before  he 
reached  Calais.^  They  were  presented  to  the  king 
by  his  cousin,  the  Duke  of  York.  On  receiving 
their  message  the  king's  countenance  underwent  no 
change ;  he  replied  "  moderately,  without  anger, 
without  any  heightening  of  the  colour  of  his  face  : 

1  Ibid.,  45. 


I4I5]  AGINCOURT  147 

'Let  all  things  be  done  that  are  pleasing  to  God.'  " 
And  when  the  heralds  asked  by  what  road  he  would 
march,  he  replied  :  "  Straight  to  Calais.  And  if  our 
adversaries  attempt  to  stop  this  road,  they  will  do 
so  to  their  own  hurt  and  great  peril.  We  indeed  do 
not  seek  them  ;  nor  will  fear  make  us  move  either 
more  quickly  or  more  slowly.  Nevertheless,  we  do 
urge  them  not  to  hinder  our  way,  nor  to  seek  so 
great  an  effusion  of  Christian  blood."  ^  He  then 
dismissed  the  heralds  with  a  present  of  one  hundred 
crowns,  French  money. 

The  army  continued  its  march  through  this  day, 
20  October,  without  seeing  the  enemy.  Next  day, 
while  they  were  passing  near  the  walled  town  of 
Peronne,  a  demonstration  was  made  by  a  body  of 
French  horse,  with  the  object  of  drawing  them 
within  range  of  the  artillery  on  the  walls.  The 
attempt  was  unsuccessful,  as  the  English  horse  in  a 
short  time  forced  the  enemy  to  retire  within  the 
walls.  The  army  passed  onwards,  leaving  Peronne 
about  a  mile  on  the  left.  They  were  now  pressing 
due  north,  towards  Calais.  The  road  was  found  to 
be  all  trampled  and  cut  up,  showing  that  the  French 
army  had  gone  on  before. 

The  three  following  days,  22,  23  and  24  October, 
passed  without  any  event  of  importance.  The  only 
rivers  of  any  size  that  lay  in  the  way  are  the  Canche 
and  its  tributary,  the  Ternoise.  The  Canche  was 
crossed  on  the  22nd  at  Frevent,  and  the  "  River  of 

^  Livius,  op.  cit.,  14. 


148  HENRY  V  [1415 

the  Swords,"  as  the  Enghsh  chroniclers  call  the 
Ternoise,  on  the  24th.  There  was  a  bridge  over  this 
river  near  Blangy.^  Henry  sent  forward  some 
knights  and  men-at-arms  to  hold  it.  When  they 
reached  it  they  found  a  body  of  French  engaged  in 
breaking  it  down.  But  the  English  knights  at  once 
made  an  onslaught  on  the  French  and  drove  them 
with  much  loss  from  the  bridge,  which  was  found  to 
be  practically  uninjured.  If  the  French  had  accom- 
plished their  design  in  breaking  it  down,  it  was 
believed  that  the  English  army  would  have  been  in 
a  very  grave  situation.  ^ 

The  route  to  Calais  now  lay  through  that  country 
of  low  hills  known  as  the  "  Collines  de  I'Artois." 
When  the  army  had  crossed  the  Ternoise  the  advance- 
guard,  under  the  Duke  of  York,  ascended  a  neigh- 
bouring eminence,  and  from  there  "  we  saw  about  a 
mile  away  black  columns  of  the  French  issuing  from 
a  valley  further  up."  They  came  onwards  looking 
inconceivably  numerous  compared  with  the  English, 
and  halted  at  length  at  a  distance  of  about  half  a 
mile,  filling  a  very  large  field,  "  like  an  innumerable 
host  of  locusts,  with  only  a  small  valley  between  them 
and  us."^ 

King  Henry,  all  his  forces  being  now  safely  across 
the  Ternoise,  at  once  drew  up  the  army  in  battle 
order,    expecting    an    immediate    conflict.      Every 

^  See  Nicolas,  Agincourt,  100. 
*  T.  Livius,  op.  cit.,  15. 
'  Geata  Henrici  Quinti,  46. 


The  Plan  of  Agincourt. 


Face  page  14 


HIS]  AGINCOURT  149 

soldier  who  had  not  confessed,  '*  assumed  the  arms 
of  penitence,  and  the  only  scarcity  there  was  at  that 
time  was  a  scarcity  of  priests."  It  was  on  this 
occasion  that  a  knight.  Sir  Walter  Hungerford. 
expressed  a  wish  that  the  king  had  in  addition  to  his 
small  following,  ten  thousand  of  the  good  English 
archers  who  would  be  wanting  to  be  with  him.  "  To 
whom  the  king  answered,  '  You  speak  foolishly, 
for  bv  tlie  heaven  of  God,  on  whose  grace  I  rely,  and 
in  whom  is  my  firm  hope  of  victory.  I  would  not, 
even  if  I  could,  have  one  man  more  than  I  have.  Do 
you  not  believe.'  he  said,  '  that  the  Almighty  can 
with  this  His  small  humble  army  overcome  the  pride 
opposed  to  us  by  the  French,  who  glorify  themselves 
with  their  numbers  and  their  own  strength  ?  ' — 
as  though  he  meant,  '  He  can  if  He  pleases.'  "  And 
the  good  chaplain  who  was  with  Henry  and  narrates 
these  words,  adds,  that  according  to  God's  true 
justice  no  misfortune  could  befall  a  son  of  so  much 
faith,  just  as  none  befell  Judas  Maccabseus  until  he 
fell  to  doubting,  and  then  he  came  deservedly  to 
ruin.  ^ 

The  road  to  Calais  passed  a  wood  a  little  to  the 
left  of  the  English.  The  French,  instead  of  offering 
battle  now  as  was  expected,  moved  away  to  another 
field  behind  this  wood.  Henry,  fearing  that  if  he 
kept  still,  the  French  under  cover  of  the  wood  might 
execute  some  movement  by  which  he  would  be 
surrounded,  kept  moving  likewise,  and  had  liis  army 

»  Jbid.,  47. 


150  HENRY  V  [1415 

always  facing  the  enemy.  At  last  night  came  on, 
and  found  the  armies  still  moving  cautiously  opposite 
each  other.  As  the  time  was  now  obviously  too  late  for 
fighting,  the  French  settled  down  in  the  villages  of 
Agincourt  and  Ruissauville,  among  the  homesteads 
and  orchards,  to  wait  till  morning.^  The  English 
too  came  to  a  halt,  and  in  the  quiet  of  the  evening 
could  hear  the  Frenchmen,  as  their  manner  was, 
shouting  out  for  their  attendants,  their  servants, 
their  friends.  But  when  the  English  began  to  do  the 
same,  Henry  ordered  silence  throughout  the  whole 
army,  on  pain  of  the  loss  of  horse  and  honours  for  a 
noble,  and  of  the  loss  of  the  right  ear  for  an  inferior, 
without  hope  of  pardon.  The  order  was  observed, 
and  immediately  in  silence  the  army  moved  off  to 
the  little  village  of  Maisoncelles,  "  where  we  had  a 
very  few  houses  and  gardens  and  orchards  for  our 
rest,  and  rain  in  abundance  almost  the  whole  night."  ^ 
The  country  was  quite  unknown  to  the  English. 
They  would  not  even  have  known  how  to  go  to  the 
village,  but  that  in  the  dark,  the  white  surface  of  the 
road  was  observed  which  led  them  to  Maisoncelles.^ 
The  French  felt  so  confident  of  having  the  English 
in  a  trap,  that  during  the  night  they  were  playing  at 
dice  for  the  ransom  of  Henry  and  his  nobles.  *  About 
midnight  a  detachment  of  2500  men  from  the  French 
army,  under  the  Count  of  Richemont  (who  was  a  step- 

1  Nicolas,  Agincourt,  106. 

*  Oesta  Henrici  Quinti,  48. 
^  Livius,  op.  cit.,  15. 

*  Oesta  Henrici  Quinti,  49  ;   also  Nicolas,  Agincourt,  107. 


I4I5]  AGINCOURT  151 

brother  of  king  Henry),  made  an  assault  on  the 
EngHsh  Hnes,  in  a  storm  of  wind  and  rain.  But  the 
Enghsh  were  not  taken  by  surprise,  and  beat  off  the 
attack. 

At  daybreak,  St.  Crispin's  day,  25  October,  the 
French  were  drawn  up  in  battle-order  in  the  large 
field  that  took  its  name  from  Agincourt,  a  village 
through  which  lay  the  road  to  Calais.  The  lowest 
estimate  of  their  number  is  that  given  by  the  French 
chronicler,  St.  Remy,  who  was  present  in  the  EngHsh 
army;  he  computes  the  French  at  50,000  men.^ 
The  ground  which  they  occupied  was  wooded  on 
either  side,  on  the  west  towards  Agincourt,  on  the 
east  towards  the  village  of  Tramecourt.  The  ground 
between  the  woods  was  slightly  depressed,  so  that 
the  field  of  battle  was  well-defined  and  self-contained. 

The  French  army  was  disposed,  according  to  the 
regular  medieval  way,  in  three  "  battles  "  or  divisions, 
one  behind  the  other.  Each  division  stretched  com- 
pletely across  the  ground  between  the  woods  of 
Agincourt  and  Tramecourt.  The  first,  or  "  vaward  " 
consisted  of  about  13,500  men  ;  of  these  8000  were 
men-at-arms,  and  5500  were  archers,  who  stood 
behind  the  men-at-arms.  ^  They  were  all  dismounted 
except  some  hundreds  of  knights  and  men-at-arms 
posted  on  the  flanks  with  the  object  of  charging  upon 
the  English  archers.*    This  first  division  was  31  men 

1  Nicolas,  op.  cit.,  76,  13G 

*  Nicolas,  op.  cit.,  110  (from  dea  Ursins,  314). 

3  Oe»ta  Henrici  Quinti,  49. 


152  HENRY  V  [1415 

deep,*  and  must  accordingly  have  been  between 
400  and  500  men  broad.  The  second  division  was 
probably  dismounted  too,  but  the  third  or  rear- 
ward kept  on  horseback.  ^  The  men-at-arms  were  all 
armed  with  lances,  which  till  the  fight  began  they 
held  erect,  giving  the  appearance  of  a  forest  of 
weapons.' 

King  Henry,  also,  after  prayers  had  been  held 
and  mass  celebrated,  drew  up  his  army  in  three 
"battles"  or  divisions,*  not,  however,  like  the 
French,  one  behind  the  other,  but  each  division  in 
line  with  the  other,  so  as  completely  to  fill  up  the 
space  between  the  two  woods.  Thus  the  English 
army  had  a  front  as  broad  as  that  of  the  French,  but 
it  was  not  so  dense,  being  only  four  ranks  deep.  The 
middle  division  (main  battle)  was  commanded  by 
king  Henry  in  person,  clad  in  complete  armour, 
including  helmet  and  gold  crown,  shining  with 
precious  stones.  He  was  mounted  on  a  grey  horse, 
but  when  the  fight  began,  he  led  the  army  on  foot. 
The  right-hand  division  or  vaward  was  commanded 
by  the  Duke  of  York  ;  the  left  or  rearward  by  the 
Lord  Camoys.  Each  division  had  wings  or  wedges  of 
archers,  who  had  their  pointed  stakes  ready  to  fix 
into  the  ground,  against  any  charges  of  the  French 
cavalry.  Thick  hedges  and  thorn-bushes  on  either 
side  of  the  English  army  safeguarded  it  from  any 
flank  attack  of  the  enemy.     The  distance  between 

*  Liviua,  op.  cit.,  17.  *  Qesta  Henrici  Quinti,  49. 

*  Jbid.  *  Livius,  op.  cit.,  IG. 


14 15]  AGINCOURT  .  163 

the  two  antagonists  was  between  one -quarter  and 
one-third  of  a  mile.^  The  number  of  the  Enghsh 
knights,  men-at-arms,  esquires  and  other  fighting 
men  (excluding  archers)  stretching  across  the  field 
four  ranks  deep,  but  with  large  intervals  at  the 
extreme  wings  of  each  division,  must  have  been 
under  a  thousand.  The  archers  numbered  about 
5000. 

The  tension  must  have  been  very  great  on  both 
sides,  but  most  of  all  among  the  English  who,  few  in 
number,  in  a  hostile  and  almost  unknown  country, 
without  provisions,  had  to  watch  the  huge  French 
army,  not  half  a  mile  away,  waiting  quietly  while 
every  hour  brought  reinforcements  from  the  fiefs  of 
France.  Evidently  the  design  of  the  French  was  to 
starve  the  English  out.^  They  thought  it  worth 
while,  however,  to  offer  Henry  terms,  promising  him 
a  safe  journey  to  Calais,  if  he  would  give  up  Harfleur 
and  his  claim  to  the  crown  of  France.  But  Henry 
never  thought  of  acknowledging  defeat.  He  offered, 
indeed,  to  give  up  Harfleur  and  the  claim  to  the 
French  crown,  but  demanded  in  return  territorial 
concessions  on  the  borders  of  Guienne,  and  in 
Ponthieu,  and  in  addition  the  hand  of  the  princess 
Katherine  and  a  dowry  of  800,000  crowns.  He  could 
have  hardly  asked  more  if  his  army  had  numbered 
50,000  men  and  that  of  the  French  only  6000.  On 
the  same  day  when  a  French  nobleman  the  Lord  of 

^  Oeata  Henrici  Quinti,  49  ;  Livius,  op.  cit.,  16-18. 
*  Oesta  Henrici  Quinti,  50, 


154  HENRY  V  [1415 

Helly  offered  to  meet  anyone  in  single  combat, 
Henry  curtly  closed  the  negotiation  by  saying,  *'  Get 
hence  to  your  camp.  We  cannot  believe  that  you 
will  go  as  quickly  as  we  when  we  break  into  your 
army." 

Then  not  choosing  to  wait  any  longer,  about  an 
hour  or  an  hour  and  a  half  before  midday,  Henry 
gave  the  order  to  advance.  The  baggage  and  the  sick 
were  left  at  the  village  of  Maisoncelles,  along  with 
the  chaplains.  Only  ten  men-at-arms  and  twenty 
archers  could  be  spared  to  guard  them.  The  chaplain 
who  wrote  the  life  of  the  king,  sat  among  the  baggage 
on  a  horse,  engaged  in  prayer,  but  also  able  to  watch 
the  course  of  events.^ 

When  the  order  was  given  to  advance,  the  English 
soldiers  all  fell  on  to  their  knees  and  put  a  piece  of 
earth  into  their  mouths,  ^  then  with  a  great  shouting 
ran  forward  towards  the  enemy.  King  Henry  led 
them  on  foot.  The  French  army  was  ready  for  the 
attack :  the  "  horns "  of  mounted  knights  and 
men-at-arms,  posted  on  the  right  and  left  flanks  of 
the  first  line,  began  to  converge  towards  each  other, 
hoping  thus  to  envelop  and  crush  the  English.  The 
manoeuvre  looked  like  succeeding  ;  the  advance  of 
the  English  wavered  for  a  moment,  but  the  archers, 
having  planted  their  stakes  firmly  into  the  ground, 

»  Ibid.,  61. 

*  Livius,  op.  cit.,  19.  For  various  explanations  see  Nicolas,  op. 
cit.,  120,  and  Lingard,  Hiat.  of  Eng.,  Ill,  498.  The  mouthful  of  earth 
may  have  testified  the  imworthiness  of  the  soldier  to  receive  the 
sacrament. 


T4I5]  AGINCOURT  165 

stood  calmly  behind  these,  and  discharged  volley 
after  volley  of  arrows  into  the  French  cavalry,  which 
was  soon  driven  back  into  its  lines  again.  During 
this  short  preliminary  to  the  general  action,  the 
stakes  of  the  archers  were  very  useful,  checking 
completely  the  onslaught  of  such  of  the  knights  as 
penetrated  the  shower  of  arrows.^  The  archers  also 
were  able  to  do  more  at  this  time  than  to  repel  the 
French  mounted  men  ;  they  forced  the  artillery-men 
who  were  posted  at  the  flanks  beside  the  woods  to 
withdraw,  after  having  inflicted  little  damage  on  the 
English. 

Some  archers  then  took  up  a  position  just  inside 
the  wood  on  either  side  of  the  field  of  battle,  and 
began  pouring  arrows  into  the  first  division  of  dis- 
mounted French  knights  and  men-at-arms.  The 
damage  done  by  the  archers  here  must  have  been 
heavy,  for  the  French  are  said  to  have  been  so  closely 
packed  that  they  could  hardly  use  their  sword  arms.^ 

To  escape  from  this  intolerable  position  and  to 
grapple  hand  to  hand  with  the  enemy,  the  first 
division  of  the  French  then  advanced,  projecting 
itself  in  three  sections  against  each  of  the  three 
English  divisions.  They  came  on  with  their  lances 
held  forward  with  so  much  dash,  that  they  forced 
the  English  to  recoil  about  a  lance's  length.  Then 
the  clergy,  who  were  watching  the  battle  from  Maison- 
celles,  believing  now  that  the  English  forces  were 

^  Oeata  Henrici  Quinti,  52. 

2  Beligiettx  de  St.  Denya,  V,  560. 


156  HENRY  V  [h^S 

being  swept  back  by  superior  weight  and  numbers, 
lifted  their  hands  to  God  almost  in  despair. 

But  the  English  only  recoiled  for  a  moment.  After 
the  two  lines  met,  and  mingled,  and  it  became  im- 
possible to  vise  the  bow  and  arrow  without  endanger- 
ing friend  as  well  as  foe,  the  English  archers  threw 
down  their  bows  and  seizing  the  hatchets  or  swords 
whicli  hung  at  their  girdles,  or  even  the  stakes  which 
they  had  planted  in  the  ground,  they  threw  them- 
selves into  the  thick  of  the  fray.  The  ground  sodden 
by  a  long  night's  rain,  was  soon  mashed  up  by  the 
trampling  of  the  thousands  of  armed  men  upon  it.^ 
The  French  men-at-arms  were  all  clad  in  armour. 
This  handicapped  them  terribly  on  the  muddy 
ground.  It  was  not  merely  that  the  weight  of  their 
back-  and  breast-plates  reduced  their  activity,  but 
the  leg-armour,  including  iron  foot-wear,  gave  them 
no  hold  on  the  slippery  ground.  The  archers,  on  the 
contrary,  who  composed  the  bulk  of  the  English 
army,  were  lightly  clad.  They  had  loose-fitting 
jackets,  so  that  their  arms  might  be  free  to  draw  the 
long-bow,  their  hose  also  were  loose  and  easy,  and 
their  feet  either  shod  with  leather,  or  bare  altogether, 
so  that  they  could  grip  the  slippery  earth,  and  move 
with  comparative  freedom  even  in  the  mud.  Many 
were  bare-headed  ;  others  had  a  cap  of  leather  or  of 
osier,  with  an  iron  cross  on  the  top,  as  a  protection 
against  cuts.  Hacking  and  hewing,  these  sturdy 
archers,   aided  by  the  more  solid  body  of  English 

'   Chronicle  oj  Normandy,  2\Q, 


I4I5]  AGINCOURT  15t 

men-at-arms,  did  fearful  execution  among  the 
French. 

For  a  time  there  was  no  opportunity  for  taking 
prisoners.  The  hand-to-hand  battle  lasted  three 
hours.  ^  Many  of  the  French  fought  bravely,  but  all 
the  army  was  unable  to  show  similar  resolution 
under  such  unfavourable  conditions.  ^  There  were 
some  who  were  said  to  have  surrendered  as  often  as 
ten  times,  ^  for  no  one  could  attend  to  prisoners 
while  the  fight  was  still  undecided.  Many  of  the 
first  division  of  the  French  were  soon  lying  dead  ; 
but  those  behind  kept  pressing  on,  increasing  the 
confusion.  As  fresh  numbers  kept  struggling  forward 
they  were  cut  down  likewise  by  the  English.  Slain 
lay  upon  slain,  and  sometimes  even  upon  the  living. 
Gradually  where  each  division  of  the  English  were 
fighting,  a  regular  heap  of  dead  bodies  formed  itself. 
The  ghastly  piles  continued  growing  till  they  were 
as  high  as  a  man  and  the  English  soldiers  stood  upon 
them  and  from  above  kept  on  slaying  the  enemy, 
hitting  downwards  with  sword  and  with  axe.* 

Thus  the  first  division  of  the  French  was  broken 
and  likewise  the  second  which  came  up  to  support 
it.  The  dead  and  wounded  covered  the  field  ;  many 
of  the  men-at-arms  turned  and  fled.^  The  French 
rearward,  which  was  mounted,  seems  not  to  have 
come  into  the  action  at  all.     The  Duke  of  Alen9on, 

^  Livius,  op.  cit.,  19.  *  Chronicle  of  Normandy,  220. 

*  Oesta  Henrici  Quinti,  55.  *  Ibid. 

*  Chronicle  of  Normandy,  220. 


168  HENRY  V  [1415 

who  was  fighting  on  foot  in  the  first  division,  when 
he  saw  many  men  flying,  mounted  his  horse  (which 
as  usual  would  be  held  by  a  squire  not  far  off)  and 
made  a  determined  attempt  to  rally  the  fugitives, 
but  without  success.  So  he  returned  to  the  fray 
which  still  continued,  "  and  performed  such  feats  of 
arms,  so  gallantly  that  it  was  marvellous  to  behold."^ 
He  fought  his  way  towards  the  prominent  figure  of 
king  Henry,  engaged  with  him,  and  with  a  blow  of 
his  sword  struck  off  a  piece  of  the  king's  crown.  He 
was  then  surrounded  and  cut  down  before  Henry 
could  take  him  under  his  protection  as  a  prisoner. 
When  the  battle  was  almost  over,  a  courageous 
attempt  was  made  to  retrieve  it  by  the  Counts  of 
Marie  and  Fauquembergh  who  managed  to  keep  600 
French  men-at-arms  from  joining  the  rout.  They 
charged  suddenly  into  the  English  forces,  but  the 
attempt  was  unsuccessful,  and  the  brave  leaders 
lost  their  lives. 

King  Henry,  fighting  on  foot,  distinguished  him- 
self at  the  head  of  his  men.  Eighteen  French  knights 
had  sworn  to  strike  his  crown  from  his  head,  or  to 
die.  Henry  indeed  was  a  marked  man,  and  received 
many  blows  on  his  head  and  armour,  2  and  his  crown 
was  broken.  But  none  of  the  devoted  French  knights 
escaped  alive.  The  king's  brother,  Humphrey  of 
Gloucester,  was  pierced  by  a  dagger  in  his  side,  and 
stretched  on  the  ground.  The  king  immediately 
placed  himself  between  his  prostrate  brother  and  the 

^  Ibid.^  ^  Livius,  op.  cit.,  20. 


I4I5]  AGINCOURT  169 

enemy,  and  warded  off  all  assailants,  until  the  duke 
was  carried  away  to  the  rear.^ 

As  the  three-hour  battle  drew  to  a  close,  and  the 
French  began  to  break  into  flight,  many  prisoners 
were  taken,  for  the  sake  of  their  ransom,  by  the 
English.  The  prisoners  were  more  in  number  than 
their  captors.^  Suddenly  shouts  were  raised  that 
the  French  were  reforming,  or  that  a  new  army  had 
come  up,  and  that  the  English  army,  worn  out  by  its 
labours,  was  to  be  attacked  again.  As  in  such  circum- 
stances the  French  prisoners  would  naturally  join 
their  friends,  king  Henry  ordered  that  they  should 
be  killed,  so  as  to  leave  their  captors  free  to  deal 
with  the  new  forces.  But  as  no  soldier  cared  to  spoil 
his  chance  of  getting  a  ransom,  the  dreadful  order 
was  carried  out  in  cold  blood  by  a  body  of  200 
soldiers  specially  detailed  for  the  purpose.  The 
noblest  prisoners  including  the  dukes  of  Orleans  and 
Bourbon  were,  however,  kept  by  the  king ;  and  a 
few  others  not  reckoned  among  the  nobles  escaped 
the  slaughter,'  probably  when  the  alarm  was  found 
to  be  a  false  one.  The  only  assault  made  on  the 
English,  was  by  some  knights  who  had  raised  a  body 
of  country-people,  and  attacked  the  baggage  at 
Maisoncelles. 

At  last  the  battle  was  over.  By  the  scene  of  the 
battle  were  found  wagons  full  of  provisions,  as  well 
as    stores  of  arms.     The  English   were  thus  in  no 

1  Ihid.  2  lud. 

^  Oesta  Henrici  Quinti,  56. 


160  HENRY  V  [i4>s 

danger  of  hunger.  The  men  stripped  the  dead  of  all 
jewels  and  valuables,  before  the  army  retired  to 
Maisoncelles.  The  peasants  of  the  district  com- 
pleted the  work  of  spoliation  by  stripping  the  dead 
of  their  clothes. 

The  fight  must  have  been  finished  between  three 
and  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Henry  returned 
thanks  to  God  on  the  field  of  battle.  He  also  publicly 
thanked  the  army  for  its  services,  and  commanded 
that  the  battle  should  forever  bear  the  name  of 
Agincourt  from  the  castle  near  by.  He  remained  on 
the  field  of  battle  till  dusk,  in  case  the  French  should 
reform  and  attack  him.  When  night  was  coming  on, 
the  rain  began  to  fall  again  ;  but  by  this  time  all  the 
army  was  back  at  Maisoncelles,  with  its  booty  and 
prisoners.  The  total  number  of  French  slain  seems 
to  have  amounted  to  about  10,000  men  ;  the  highest 
estimate  given  by  French  chroniclers  of  the  English 
dead,  is  1600  (English  chroniclers  mention  much 
smaller  numbers).  The  Duke  of  York  was  among  the 
slain,  and  so  was  the  Earl  of  Suffolk,  whose  father 
had  died  only  the  month  before  in  the  siege  of 
Harfleur. 

Next  day  Henry  and  his  army  continued  their  way 
to  Calais,  passing  through  the  scene  of  yesterday's 
battle,  where  wounded  Frenchmen  were  still  lying, 
and  the  naked  dead  were  lying  unburied.  The  march 
of  the  English  army  continued  peacefully  and  without 
event.  King  Henry  had  numerous  conversations 
with  his  noble  prisoner  Charles  of  Orleans,  to  whom 


HENRY  V 
Eton  College 


1415]  AGINCOURT  161 

all  authorities  agree  that  he  behaved  with  the 
greatest  courtesy.  The  army  reached  Calais  on  29 
October,  and  remained  there  more  than  a  fortnight. 
It  is  said  that  the  soldiers  were  very  badly  treated 
by  the  inhabitants,  and  were  driven  to  sell  their 
booty  and  prisoners  cheaply  at  a  disadvantage  in 
order  to  buy  bread.  King  Henry  after  his  soldiers 
had  been  refreshed,  had  it  in  his  mind  to  follow  up 
his  victory  of  Agincourt  by  besieging  some  of  the 
French  towns  and  castles  near  the  Pale  of  Calais. 
But  his  council  were  of  opinion  that  sufficient  had 
been  done  for  the  present.  So  on  16  November  the 
army  was  embarked  in  ships  which  had  been  pre- 
pared for  the  purpose.  The  Duke  of  Orleans  was 
placed  in  the  king's  ship.  The  wind  was  favourable, 
but  the  Straits  of  Dover,  as  the  chronicler  Livius 
says,  "  are  always  full  of  great  waves."  The  French- 
men were  sea-sick  and  found  that  day  as  bitter  as 
when  they  were  captured  with  so  much  slaughter 
at  Agincourt.  They  were  greatly  struck  by  the 
composure  of  king  Henry,  who  seemed  in  no  way 
affected  by  the  waves.  ^ 

The  news  of  the  great  success  of  the  army  had 
already  reached  England.  When  the  ships  put  into 
Dover  on  16  November,  a  great  concourse  of  people 
had  collected  from  other  places — monks,  priests, 
nobles  and  commons.  The  ships  of  those  days  drew 
but  little  water,  so  that  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people 
had  no  need  to  be  restrained.    They  rushed  into  the 

^  Livius,  op,  cit.,  22. 
M 


162  HENRY  V  [1415 

water  up  to  the  royal  ship,  and  bore  the  king  in  their 
arms  to  the  shore.  ^  It  was  the  most  popular  day 
of  the  Lancastrian  dynasty. 

That  day  and  night  were  spent  in  Dover.  Next 
day  the  king  and  his  men  continued  their  triumphant 
way.  By  easy  stages  they  marched  towards  London, 
through  Canterbury,  from  which  the  Archbishop, 
the  abbot  and  the  monks  came  out  to  meet  them. 
The  royal  manor  of  Eltham  was  reached  on  Friday 
the  22nd.  There  the  king  slept  the  night,  and  next 
day  proceeded  to  London.  Meanwhile  the  citizens  of 
the  capital  had  prepared  to  welcome  their  king  with 
all  magnificence.  At  Blackheath  he  was  met  by  the 
mayor  and  twenty-four  aldermen  in  scarlet  gowns, 
and  twenty  thousand  of  the  citizens,  in  red  garments 
with  hoods  of  red  and  white.  Many  rode  on  horse- 
back. They  were  arranged  according  to  their  com- 
panies and  crafts  with  their  distinguishing  ornaments 
and  symbols.  2  The  citizens  offered  the  king  their 
loyal  congratulations,  to  which  Henry  modestly 
replied  with,  "  Graunt-merci  Sires."  Then  the 
citizens  went  on  to  London,  and  the  king  followed 
with  only  a  small  company  of  his  men,  for  most  of 
the  soldiers  had  either  preceded  the  king  to  London, 
or  had  been  dismissed  to  their  homes. 

He  entered  the  city  through  crowds  of  people, 
and  a  series  of  the  most  sumptuous  triumphal 
decorations.  Gigantic  symbolic  figures  were  placed 
on  a  tower  at  the  entrance  to  London  Bridge.     All 

^  Ibid.  -  Gesta  Henrici  Qumti,  61. 


1415]  AGINCOURT  168 

the  way  by  Cornhill  and  Cheapside  to  Westminster 
were  erected  towers,  castles  and  pavilions.  On  the 
gates  and  squares  were  all  manner  of  precious  cloths 
emblazoned  with  the  great  deeds  of  English  kings. 
The  conduits  ran  with  wine  instead  of  water.  From 
the  high  towers  the  sweet  voices  of  young  choristers 
sang  praises  and  songs.  From  the  bridge  of  a  great 
wooden  castle  near  the  cross  at  Cheapside,  beautiful 
maidens  sang  to  king  Henry,  "as  to  another  David 
coming  from  the  killing  of  Goliath  "  ;  the  refrain  of 
their  song  was,  "  Welcome  Henry  the  Fifte,  Kynge 
of  Englonde  and  of  Fraunce."  Boys  dropped  gold 
and  laurels  on  the  head  of  the  king,  and  sang 
praises  to  God.  The  words  "  dec  gratias  "  had 
the  most  prominent  place  on  a  tower  by  St. 
Paul's. 

Every  window  and  door  was  packed  with  enthusi- 
astic onlookers,  and  the  streets  were  so  densely 
crowded  that  it  was  with  difficulty  that  the  horsemen 
could  make  their  way  through.  But  king  Henry 
rode  with  a  countenance  almost  unmoved.  He  was 
clad  in  a  purple  robe ;  his  pace  was  dignified  but  his 
attendants  few.  Behind  him  came  the  French  dukes 
and  earls  and  the  Marshal  Boucicault,  who  were 
prisoners.  By  his  quiet  and  sober  expression  of 
countenance  the  king  showed  the  people  that  he  gave 
all  the  glory  not  to  himself  but  to  God  alone.  He 
was  unwilling  even  to  show  them  his  helmet  and 
crown,  all  battered  in  the  fight  at  Agincourt.  After 
giving  thanks   on   the   way   at   St.    Paul's   and   the 


164  HENRY  V  [1415 

Abbey,  the  king  went  to  stay  in  the  palace  of  West- 
minster. ^ 

Now  gracious  God,  he  save  oure  Kynge, 
His  people  and  all  his  well  wyllynge, 
Gef  him  good  lyfe,  and  good  endynge, 
That  we  with  mirth  mowe  savely  synge, 

Deo  Gratias ; 
Deo  gratias  Anglia  redde  pro  victoria.  ^ 

1  For  king  Henry's  return  and  for  the  pageant  see  Oesta 
Henrici  Quinti,  61  ff.,  and  Livius,  op.  cit.,  22-3. 

*  From  Percy's  Reliques,  II,  v.  The  song,  of  which  this  is  the 
last  verse,  is  supposed  to  have  been  sung  at  the  above  pageant. 


CHAPTER    IX 

SIGISMUND 

Although  the  reign  of  Henry  V  is  mainly  a 
story  of  wars,  he  was  assiduous  in  the  peaceful 
administration  of  his  kingdom  of  England,  and 
spent  comparatively  long  periods  there.  Between 
November,  1415,  and  August,  1417,  he  had  a  long 
respite  from  campaigning.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however, 
that  during  this  period  a  great  deal  of  his  attention 
was  absorbed  in  preparations  for  the  renewal  of  the 
struggle  in  France.  The  months  that  Henry  had 
spent  in  France  in  the  campaign  of  Agincourt,  had 
passed  quietly  in  England,  where  the  capable  John, 
Duke  of  Bedford,  was  lieutenant  of  the  kingdom. 
The  duke  held  a  parliament  from  4  to  12  November, 
while  Henry  was  still  at  Calais.  The  good  news  of 
Agincourt  was  known  in  London,  and  the  popularity 
of  the  king  was  assured.  Parliament  voted  him 
tunnage  and  poundage  for  life,  along  with  other 
considerable  items, — a  very  suitable  present  for  a 
king  who  had  mortgaged  nearly  all  his  property  to 
raise  money  for  the  war. 

It    was  on    23    November,    that    the   king    made 
his  procession  into  London.     On  1  December  he  was 

165 


166  HENRY  V  [1416 

present  at  the  funerals  of  the  Duke  of  York  and  the 
Earl  of  Suffolk,  slain  at  Agincourt.*  He  spent 
Christmas  at  Lambeth,  and  there  heard  of  a  successful 
raid  which  the  Earl  of  Dorset  had  made  into  Normandy 
from  Harfleur.  The  business  of  the  kingdom  seems 
to  have  kept  Henry  in  or  near  London  throughout 
the  spring  of  1416.  Measures  had  to  be  taken  to 
keep  the  garrison  in  Harfleur  up  to  full  strength,  and 
to  pay  their  wages.  A  troublesome  matter  had  to  be 
settled  with  two  Northumbrian  gentlemen  who  had 
fitted  out  a  couple  of  "  balingers,"  and  had  captured 
two  Flemish  merchantmen.  The  incident  might 
have  endangered  the  truce  which  existed  between  the 
king  and  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  who  was  the  feudal 
overlord  of  Flanders.  But  Henry  was  firm,  and  the 
Flemish  ships  were  restored  to  their  owners.  ^  On 
16  March,  a  new  parliament  met  and  was  opened  by 
Henry  Beaufort,  Bishop  of  Winchester.  Henry 
Percy  who  had  been  an  exile  for  engaging  in  rebellion 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  IV,  was  allowed  to  do  homage 
to  the  king  and  so  to  recover  his  earldom  of  Northum- 
berland. It  was  resolved  that  during  the  schism 
which  still  existed  in  the  papacy,  every  bishop-elect 
in  England  should  be  confirmed  by  the  archbishop 
on  a  writ  from  the  king,  without  any  intervention 
from  a  pope.'  This  schism  divided  with  the  French 
war  the  attention  of  Europe.    Henry  V  as  a  devout 

^  Walsingham,  Historia  Anglicana,  II,  314. 
*  Proc.  of  Privy  Council,  IT,  186-7. 
»  Rolls  oj  Pari.,  IV,  71. 


i4i6]  SIGISMUND  167 

Catholic  was  anxious  for  the  unity  of  the  Church. 
He  was  now  to  come  into  close  personal  relations 
with  the  Emperor  Sigismund,  through  whose  efforts 
the  schism  was  next  year  to  be  ended. 

Sigismund  was  a  scion  of  the  great  house  of 
Luxembourg  which,  for  a  hundred  years,  had  been 
intimately  connected  with  the  Imperial  dignity.  The 
first  emperor  of  this  line  was  Henry  VII,  whose 
noble  character  and  great  ideas  so  attracted  Dante 
that  the  Italian  poet  welcomed  the  German  emperor 
as  the  unifier  and  saviour  of  Italy.  There  was  a  great 
fund  of  chivalry  in  the  Luxembourg  house.  John, 
son  of  Henry  VII,  was  not  elected  to  the  empire,  but 
as  king  of  Bohemia  he  gained  much  renown,  and 
eventually  died  gloriously  fighting,  though  old  and 
blind,  for  the  French  at  Crecy.  The  son  of  this  king 
John  became  Emperor  as  Charles  IV.  He  was  also 
endowed  with  the  high  ability  of  his  house,  not  as  a 
knight,  however,  but  as  a  student  and  as  a  statesman. 
He  was  the  founder  of  the  University  of  Prague,  and 
the  author  of  the  famous  Golden  Bull  (1356),  which 
formulated  and  regularised  the  privileges  of  the 
Imperial  electors.  The  two  sons  of  Charles  IV  were 
Wenzel  and  Sigismund.  Wenzel  as  king  of  Bohemia 
and  king  of  the  Romans  had  a  turbulent  career  ;  he 
had  all  the  energy  of  his  house,  but  not  their  good 
feeling,  for  his  character  showed  considerable  signs 
of  degeneracy.  He  was  cruel  and  he  was  a  drunkard. 
With  Sigismund,  however,  who,  in  1410,  became  king 
of  the  Romans  (as  the  elected  emperor  was  called 


168  HENRY  V  [1416 

before  he  was  crowned  by  the  pope),  the  glories  of 
the  house  of  Luxembourg  were  revived.  In  some 
respects  he  was  almost  a  great  man,  and  is  to  be 
compared  with  Henry  V  of  England,  with  whom  he 
had  much  in  common  ;  he  had  the  lofty  ambitions, 
the  wide  ideas,  but  without  Henry's  practical  genius, 
and  without  his  self-restraint. 

Sigismund's  life  had  been  a  stormy  one.*  He  had 
to  fight  for  his  throne  in  Hungary  with  the  fierce 
Magyar  magnates.  He  had  been  defeated  by  the 
Turks  at  Nicopolis,  and  had  to  fly  for  his  life  down 
the  Danube,  being  saved  only  by  the  Venetian  war- 
galleys.  He  had  been  imprisoned  by  his  unruly 
subjects.  He  had  endured  the  hardships  of  war  in 
the  fastnesses  of  Bosnia,  in  Serbia,  Dalmatia,  the 
Tyrol,  in  Poland,  in  Bohemia.  He  had  been  poisoned 
by  his  enemies  when  campaigning  in  Moravia,  and 
was  only  cured  by  being  hung  for  twenty-four  hours 
by  the  heels.  ^  It  is  said  that  not  a  year  of  his  life, 
from  the  age  of  fifteen  to  that  of  forty,  was  passed 
without  his  going  to  war.'  Yet  with  all  this,  he  was 
a  scholar  and  a  statesman.  He  could  speak  several 
languages  fluently,  he  was  fond  of  reading,  he  was 
interested  in  the  Universities  of  Germany.  As  a 
statesman  in  Hungary  he  encouraged  the  growth  of  the 
free  cities,  those  asylums  from  the  storms  of  medieval 

^  For  some  idea  of  the  extraordinary  activity  of  this  remarkable 
man,  see  the  Register  and  Itinerary  in  Aschbach,  Geschichte  Kaiser 
Sigismunds,  III,  430  ff. 

»  Aschbach,  op.  cit.,  I,  203. 

3  E.  J.  Kitts,  Pope  John  the  Twenty -Third,  75. 


I4I6]  SIGISMUND  169 

life,  he  ameliorated  the  conditions  of  villeinage,  he 
regularised  weights  and  measures.^  But  his  great 
design  was  to  revive  the  power  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire  ;  and  as  a  seal  and  manifestation  of  this 
universal  power,  he  aimed  at  ending  the  great  schism 
in  the  Church. 

If  Sigismund  should  be  able  to  end  the  schism,  he 
would  not  merely  establish  the  reputation  of  the 
empire,  but  would  for  ever  upset  the  claim  which  the 
popes  were  now  advancing  that  they  were  the 
superior  of  the  emperor,  and  that  only  through 
papal  confirmation  did  the  chosen  king  of  the  electors 
become  anything  more  than  emperor-elect.  For 
although  the  popes'  actual  power  had  much  weakened 
in  the  preceding  century,  their  pretensions  were  as 
great  as  ever,  and  very  troublesome  to  the  weakening 
empire. 

The  origins  of  the  great  schism  go  back  to  the 
struggle  between  Philip  IV  of  France  and  Pope 
Boniface  VIII  at  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century — 
a  struggle  which  following  on  the  victory  gained  by 
the  papacy  in  its  war  with  the  empire,  brought 
terrible  misfortunes  to  the  ecclesiastical  power. 
When  Boniface  VIII,  after  being  grievously  handled 
by  his  enemies,  died  at  Anagni  in  October,  1303, 
his  place  was  taken  by  the  Cardinal  of  Ostia, 
Benedict  XI.  But  Benedict  died  the  next  year,  and 
for  eleven  months  no  decision  was  reached.  Then, 
under   the   influence  of   France,   a  Frenchman  was 

1  Ibid.,  83-4. 


170  HENRY  V  [1416 

elected,  Clement  V,  Archbishop  of  Bordeaux,  Pos- 
sibly as  the  result  of  some  understanding  with  the 
French  monarchy,  Clement,  in  1309,  removed  the 
papal  residence  from  Rome  to  the  palace  at  Avignon, 
a  town  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhone,  which  belonged 
to  the  Count  of  Provence.  Here  the  papacy  con- 
tinued to  be  for  the  next  seventy  years.  After  the 
death  of  Clement  V  in  1314,  there  followed  in  suc- 
cession six  popes  of  French  blood.  Of  these  the  last, 
Gregory  XI,  sprung  from  a  noble  house  in  Anjou, 
was  induced  by  the  protests  of  St.  Catherine  of 
Siena  to  restore  the  papal  court  in  1377  from  the 
pleasant  town  and  country  of  Avignon  (which  the 
papacy  had  purchased  from  the  Count  of  Provence 
in  1348),  to  the  now  poor  and  ruinous  city  of  Rome. 
The  "  Babylonish  Captivity "  of  the  popes  was 
ended,  but  immediately  the  great  schism  began. 
For  Gregory  XI  died  in  1378.  The  cardinals  there- 
upon elected  an  Italian,  Bartholomew  Prignano, 
Archbishop  of  Bari,  to  be  pope,  as  Urban  VI.  But 
before  six  months  were  gone  fifteen  out  of  the  same 
cardinals  who  had  elected  Urban  VI,  elected  and 
crowned  an  anti-pope,  the  French  Bishop  of  Cambray, 
who  took  the  name  of  Clement  VII.  This  last  election 
was,  of  course,  made  in  the  interest  of  France.  The 
Italian  Urban  remained  at  Rome ;  the  French 
Clement  went  back  to  Avignon. 

Thus  two  lines  of  popes  were  established,  ^an 
Italian  line  at  Rome,  and  a  French  one  at  Avignon. 
The  empire  as  a  whole  and  England  acknowledged 


i4i6]  SIGISMUND  171 

the  Roman  line  as  legitimate  popes,  while  France, 
Spain  and  Scotland  gave  their  allegiance  to  the 
Avignon  line.  The  scandal  resulting  from  double 
popes  was  a  most  grave  one  for  the  medieval  Church, 
It  involved  endless  political  negotiations  ;  it  made 
the  respective  popes  terribly  dependent  on  the 
monarchs.  Neither  pope  was  any  longer  lord  of  the 
world,  but  lord  only  in  one  or  two  countries,  which 
by  transferring  their  allegiance  could  undo  him  in  a 
moment.  Financial  stringency  made  itself  felt  in 
the  Universal  Church.  Two  full-grown  papal  systems 
had  to  be  maintained  out  of  a  divided  and  distracted 
Europe.  The  papal  collectors  became  more  and 
more  a  permanent  feature  of  society  ;  and  the  name 
of  pope  became  more  and  more  associated  with 
questionable  means  of  extracting  money  from  the 
faithful.  The  damage  done  by  the  schism  to  religion 
was  incalculable,  and  all  the  best  minds  in  Christen- 
dom were  thinking  how  to  heal  it. 

When  Sigismund  became  emperor  in  1410,  there 
were  no  less  than  three  popes,  claiming  simultaneously 
to  be  the  successors  of  Peter  and  the  vicars  of  Christ. 
The  first  was  Benedict  XIII,  the  second  in  the  series 
of  the  Avignon  or  French  anti-popes.  (He  was 
really  a  Spaniard  by  birth.)  On  the  other  hand, 
there  was  Gregory  XII,  who  had  been  elected  by  the 
Roman  cardinals  in  1406,  but  deposed  again  in  the 
Council  of  Pisa  in  1409.  However,  as  he  refused  to 
acknowledge  his  deposition,  and  would  not  abdicate, 
he  had  still  a  claim  to  be  called  pope.     The  last  of 


1T2  HENRY  V  [1416 

the  trio  of  popes  was  John  XXIII,  a  Neapolitan,  who 
as  Baldassare  Cossa,  had  led  an  active  life  as  a 
soldier,  a  sailor,  and  an  administrator,  but  who  was 
comparatively  new  to  the  role  of  a  Churchman,  for 
which  his  training  in  the  condottiere  camps  of  north- 
ern Italy  had  scarcely  fitted  him. 

Pope  John  was  naturally  anxious  to  have  the 
schism  ended,  and  that  he  should  be  recognised  by 
Christendom  as  the  sole  vicar  of  Christ.  It  was 
clear  that  nothing  could  settle  the  difficulty  but  a 
general  council  of  the  whole  Church,  attended  by 
prelates  from  all  countries.  Such  a  council  could 
decide  who  was  the  true  pope,  and  could  perhaps 
compel  the  abdication  of  the  other  two.  But  it  was 
necessary  to  have  the  secular  arm  also,  and  for  this 
purpose  pope  John  naturally  looked  to  the  emperor. 
Sigismund  was  not  slow  to  respond ;  it  was  his 
ambition  to  be  the  leader  of  Christendom,  to  restore 
the  old  glories  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  to  show 
that  the  emperor  was  in  no  way  the  inferior  of  the 
papacy.  Nothing  could  better  restore  the  permanent 
position  of  the  empire  than  that  Sigismund  should 
preside  at  the  General  Council  which  was  to  settle 
the  destinies  of  the  papacy. 

This  Council  met  on  16  November,  1414,  at  the 
Swabian  town  of  Constance,  a  free  imperial  city 
conveniently  situated  for  travellers  from  Italy  and 
Germany  and  not  inaccessible  from  France.  By 
Christmas  Day  the  Council  was  in  proper  working 
order.     Sigismund  arrived  at  two  in  the  morning  of 


i4i6]  SIGISMUND  178 

Christmas,  and  read  the  Gospel  for  the  day  at  Mass. 
While  Henry  V  was  negotiating  with  the  French 
government  preparatory  to  invading  France,  the 
Council  was  steadily  going  through  its  work.  Among 
other  matters  heresy  was  dealt  with,  and  John  Huss 
of  Bohemia  was  burned  in  the  cathedral  square  on 
6  July,  1415.  Previously  to  this  (16  February)  pope 
John  XXIII  had  promised  to  resign  provided  that 
popes  Gregory  and  Benedict  would  do  the  same. 
Benedict  XIII  had  given  it  to  be  understood,  though 
not  definitely,  that  he  too  might  be  induced  to  resign 
his  pretensions.  On  15  June,  Gregory  XII,  through 
his  representative  prince  Carlo  Malatesta,  definitely 
proclaimed  his  resignation.  It  now  only  remained 
for  the  Council  to  secure  the  resignation  of  Benedict 
XIII,  and  then  to  proceed  to  the  election  of  a  single 
pope  for  the  whole  Church.  On  18  July,  Sigismund 
left  Constance  with  a  deputation  to  travel  through 
France  to  meet  pope  Benedict.  The  two  met  at 
Perpignan  on  18  September.  At  that  time  Henry  V 
was  still  besieging  Harfleur. 

Sigismund's  travels  had  a  double  object.  If  the 
great  schism  was  to  be  ended,  it  was  necessary  that 
Benedict  should  resign  ;  but  there  might  still  be 
trouble  if  France  and  England  remained  at  war. 
For  England  supported  the  Roman  papacy,  so  that 
the  Gallican  Church  under  pressure  from  the  French 
government,  might  refuse  to  come  under  any  pope 
who  was  supported  by  the  English,  For  this  and 
other   reasons   Sigismund   was   anxious   to   mediate 


174  HENRY  V  [1416 

between  the  two  countries.  He  had  already  corre- 
sponded with  Henry  V,  and  he  had  maintained  the 
best  relations  with  the  English  delegates  at  Constance.* 

However,  when  Sigismund  met  Benedict  at  Per- 
pignan,  the  pope  could  not  be  induced  to  resign  his 
pretensions,  but  he  was  relegated  to  Peniscola,  a 
rock-fortress  of  Valencia,  and  a  private  possession  of 
his  own.  There  he  resided  till  his  death  in  1424.  As 
Gregory  XII  had  resigned,  and  John  XXIII  who 
retracted  his  resignation,  had  been  deposed  at  the 
Council  of  Constance,  it  now  only  remained  for  a 
new  pope  of  all  the  Church  to  be  elected  under  the 
protection  of  Sigismund.  But  first  the  emperor 
desired  to  complete  his  mission  of  peace  by  visiting 
the  courts  of  France  and  Spain.  After  spending 
Christmas  at  Avignon,  he  went  to  Paris  on  1  March, 
1416. 

Paris  was  still  in  possession  of  the  Armagnacs  and 
the  national  French  government.  John  the  Fearless 
of  Burgundy  had  stood  aloof  both  from  French  and 
English  during  the  invasion  of  Henry  V.  Since 
Agincourt  he  had  kept  forces  in  the  north-east  of 
France,  and  ravaged  the  royal  domain  almost  up  to 
Paris.  The  French  government  suffered  a  great 
misfortune.  The  king,  Charles,  was  still  mentally  in- 
capable, and  the  Dauphin  Louis  died  on  18  December, 
1415.  But  a  certain  amount  of  activity  was  main- 
tained by  Bernard,   Count  of  Armagnac,  father-in- 

1  The  English  delegates  at  Constance  were  the  Earl  of  Warwick, 
the  Bishops  of  Salisbury  and  Bath,  and  some  minor  ecclesiastics. 


I4I5  16]  SIGISMUND  175 

law  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  Bernard  was  appointed 
Constable  of  France  at  the  end  of  December,  1415. 
He  was  a  great  and  wealthy  noble  of  French  Gascony, 
and  with  the  forces  he  was  able  to  collect  from  there 
he  kept  off  the  forays  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and 
held  the  Isle  of  France  and  Normandy  for  king 
Charles.  He  even  made  an  attempt  to  retake  Har- 
fleur,  but  was  foiled  by  the  activity  of  the  Captain 
of  the  town,  the  Earl  of  Dorset. 

The  French  government  expected  much  from 
Sigismund's  visit  to  Paris.  But  nothing  of  im- 
portance happened.  The  emperor  was  impecunious 
and  his  grand  manner  struck  the  French  as  ridiculous 
when  compared  with  the  parsimony  he  showed  both 
in  his  entertainments  and  in  his  charities.  He 
particularly  gave  offence  by  knighting  one  of  the 
disputants  in  a  trial  which  he  attended  before  the 
Parlement  of  Paris.  This  assumption  of  imperial 
authority  in  the  capital  of  a  sovereign  state  was  in 
very  bad  taste,  but  it  meant  a  good  deal  in  Sigismund's 
eyes,  it  meant  that  he  was  the  Holy  Roman  Emperor, 
and  the  supreme  head  of  Europe.  ^ 

Sigismund's  mission  of  peace  was  far  from  being 
accomplished.  The  French  government  disliked  his 
pretensions,  and  now  expected  little  from  his  inter- 
vention. The  Constable,  Bernard  of  Armagnac, 
looked  upon  him  with  open  hostility.  Accordingly 
it  must  have  been  with  little  friendliness  to  the 
French  that  Sigismund  left  Paris  (or  rather  St.  Denis 

^  Aschbach,  op.  cit.,  II,  157. 


176  HENRY  V  [1416 

where  he  was  residing)  some  time  about  20  April. 
He  proceeded  by  way  of  Beauvais,  Amiens  and 
Abbeville,  to  Calais  where  he  arrived  on  27  April. 
There  he  was  received  honourably  by  the  Captain, 
Richard  Beauchamp,  Earl  of  Warwick,  who  had 
been  one  of  the  English  delegates  at  Constance. 
Sigismund  had  hoped  to  meet  king  Henry  at  Calais. 
Failing  in  this,  however,  he  accepted  Henry's  invita- 
tion to  London,  and  on  30  April,  embarked  with  his 
retinue  in  three  hundred  ^  English  ships  which  Henry 
had  sent  for  the  purpose. 

It  is  impossible  to  ascertain  in  what  light  Henry  V 
regarded  Sigismund's  visit.  The  emperor  came  with 
the  express  purpose  of  making  peace  between  England 
and  France.  He  was  anxious  for  this  as  a  step 
towards  completing  the  unity  of  the  Church,  and 
then  towards  bringing  the  European  powers  together 
in  a  crusade  against  the  Turks,  who  were  now  a 
continual  menace  in  the  south-east  of  Europe.  For 
both  these  objects  Henry  V  undoubtedly  cared  a 
great  deal.  He  was  a  loyal  Churchman  and  desired 
to  see  the  end  of  the  schism  ;  and  from  boyhood  he 
seems  to  have  aspired  to  go  on  crusade,  like  his  hero 
Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  ^  to  drive  back  the  Turks  from 
Europe,  and  to  win  back  the  Holy  Land.  But  with 
all  his  dreams  Henry  V  was  intensely  practical.  His 
business  as  a  king  lay  in  England,   and  he  would 

'  Livius,  Vita  Henrici  Quinti,  23. 

*  Nicolas,  Proc.  of  Privy  Council,  III,  xxv.,  concerning  a  loan  to 
Henry  V  of  the  Chronicles  o/  Jerusalem  and  the  Voyage  o/  Oodjrey 
of  Boulogne. 


i4i6]  SIGISMUND  177 

allow  no  external  ambition  to  come  between  him 
and  what  he  considered  the  interests  of  England  and 
the  English  crown.  Accordingly  he  regarded  Sigis- 
mund  simply  as  a  great  neighbouring  sovereign.  He 
extended  the  hand  of  friendship  to  the  emperor,  and 
made  a  treaty  of  alliance.  Thus  he  secured  a  great 
diplomatic  triumph.  Sigismund  was  head  of  the 
oldest  monarchy  in  Europe  ;  he  was  the  most 
Catholic  of  princes.  In  the  great  scheme  of  con- 
quest which  Henry  had  planned,  it  was  of  the  highest 
importance  to  have  the  goodwill  and,  so  to  speak, 
the  benediction  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire.  Public 
opinion  and  the  spirit  of  legality  had  more  weight  in 
the  Middle '  Ages  than  is  usually  believed.  The 
alliance  with  the  empire  gave  a  kind  of  legitimacy  to 
Henry's  enterprises  in  France,  that  was  of  great 
practical  value.  The  advantage  did  not  lie  in  any 
specific  act  or  guarantee,  but  rather  in  a  sort  of  ideal 
support.  Yet  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  Sigis- 
mund helped  to  carry  through  the  Treaty  of  Troyes 
in  1420,  and  himself  signed  that  compact,  which  was 
so  favourable  to  Henry's  aspirations. 

The  king  made  great  preparations  for  the  honour- 
able reception  of  Sigismund,  calling  up  the  knights 
of  Kent  to  London,  so  that  a  proper  display  of  the 
power  and  majesty  of  the  English  king  might  be 
made.^  Henry  was  going  to  treat  the  emperor  as  one 
great  monarch  might  treat  another.  He  was  going 
to   permit   no   show   of  superiority   on   Sigismund's 

1  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  339. 

N 


178  HENRY  V  [.416 

part,  such  as  the  latter  had  displayed  in  Paris. 
When  the  ship  carrying  the  emperor  put  in  to  Dover 
on  30  April,  Henry's  brother  the  Duke  of  Gloucester 
was  awaiting  him,  with  a  numerous  retinue.  Before 
Sigismund  could  disembark,  Humphrey,  with  his 
attendant  noblemen,  at  once  rode  into  the  water 
right  up  to  the  side  of  the  ship  (which  drew  very 
little  water),  and  demanded  whether  he  claimed  in 
England  any  right  of  suzerainty  or  jurisdiction.  On 
Sigismund' s  replying  in  the  negative,  he  was  per- 
mitted to  land  and  was  shown  every  honour.^  The 
emperor  brought  with  him  a  magnificent  retinue — 
between  1000  and  1500  knights — and  also  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Rheims,  as  ambassador  from  France.  He 
proceeded  to  London  by  Canterbury,  Rochester  and 
Dartford,  being  entertained  at  each  place  by  the 
Archbishop,  the  Duke  of  Bedford  and  the  Duke  of 
Clarence  respectively.  At  Blackheath  he  was  met 
by  the  mayor  and  citizens  ;  and  lastly  a  mile  from 
the  city,  he  was  met  by  king  Henry  himself,  with 
5000  nobles  and  knights,  and  conducted  to  the  palace 
of  Westminster.  Sigismund  was  to  be  lodged  there 
during  his  visit,  while  the  king  himself  removed  to 
the  Archbishop's  manor  at  Lambeth.  ^  Throughout 
the  whole  of  their  visit  the  emperor  and  his  retinue 
lived  at  the  expense  of  king  Henry.  ^ 

On  the  next  day,  4  May,  parliament  met,  and  the 

1  Kingsford,  First  English  Life,  pp.  67-8.  Aschbach,  op.  cit.,  II, 
162  ;   Holinshed,  Chronicles,  555. 

2  Qeata  Henrici  Quinti,  76-7. 

*  Waurin,  Recueil  des  croniquea,  228. 


I4I6]  SIGISMUND  179 

alliance  between  the  two  monarchs  was  solemnly 
concluded.  Sigismund  at  once  began  the  business  of 
mediating  between  France  and  England.  King 
Henry  showed  signs  of  making  some  concession.  He 
protested  his  right  to  the  crown  of  France,  but  at  the 
same  time  offered  to  renounce  it  provided  that 
England  should  obtain  in  return  all  the  territory  in 
France  that  had  been  ceded  at  the  Peace  of  Bretigny 
in  1360,  and  in  addition  Harfleur.  This  was,  indeed, 
a  considerable  abatement  of  Henry's  former  demands, 
as  the  treaty  of  Bretigny  only  included  Aquitaine 
(principally  Poitou  and  Guienne),  with  the  Pale  of 
Calais  and  Ponthieu.  Of  these  England  already  held 
Guienne  and  the  Pale,  so  that  the  French  were 
only  asked  to  cede  Harfleur,  Ponthieu,  Poitou,  and 
the  considerable  outlying  districts  of  Guienne  which 
were  now  in  their  hands.  Nevertheless  the  demands 
were  great,  and  not  warranted  by  the  condition  of 
the  French  government,  which  in  spite  of  the  defeat 
of  Agincourt,  had  under  the  vigorous  leadership  of 
Count  Bernard  of  Armagnac,  still  plenty  of  resources. 
So  Henry's  offer  was  rejected.^ 

Meanwhile  the  king  and  the  emperor  grew  more 
cordial.  They  went  down  to  Windsor,  and  an 
investiture  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter  was  held. 
Five  new  knights  were  created  to  fill  the  vacancies 
caused  by  deaths  at  Agincourt.  Among  those 
promoted  to  the  most  noble  Order  of  the  Garter  was 
Sigismund.      As  an  acknowledgment  of  the  honour 

^  Liviiis,  op.  cit.,  24  ;   cp.  Monstrelet,  La  Chroniquc,  231. 


180  HENRY  V  [1416 

done  him  he  is  said  to  have  presented  the  heart  of 
St.  George  to  the  king.^  On  28  May,  another 
dignitary  of  the  empire  arrived  :  WilHam,  Count  of 
Holland  and  Duke  of  Bavaria,  who  joined  with 
Sigismund  to  mediate  between  Henry  and  the  French. 
By  their  influence  a  truce  for  three  years  was  ar- 
ranged with  France,  and  Harfleur  which  was  the  great 
bone  of  contention  now  between  the  two  countries 
was,  pending  a  final  settlement  at  the  end  of  the  truce, 
to  be  put  into  the  neutral  hands  of  the  emperor  and 
William  of  Holland.  This  truce,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
lasted  scarcely  one  month.  Henry  maintained  that 
the  French  government  did  not  provide  the  guarantees 
which  had  been  agreed  upon.^  It  is  unlikely  that 
either  side  was  very  anxious  for  peace.  The  French 
Constable  thought  that  he  was  going  to  take  Harfleur, 
which  was  suffering  from  lack  of  victuals  and  artillery. 
With  the  English  on  the  other  hand,  or  at  any  rate  the 
Londoners,  the  truce  was  unpopular,  as  they  had 
made  financial  sacrifices  for  the  war,  with  very  little 
tangible  result.^ 

Obviously  a  crisis  was  approaching ;  England 
would  soon  be  at  war  with  France  again.  Harfleur 
was  intermittently  invested.  The  Earl  of  Dorset 
throughout  the  year  had  been  showing  considerable 
activity.  In  March  he  had  made  a  raid  into  Nor- 
mandy, and  although  forced  to  retreat,   and,  as  it 

1  Note  to  Gesta  Henrici  Quinti,  78 

"  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  362-3. 

*  Oesta  Henrici  Quinti,  to  79-80,  note  2. 


i4i6]  SIGISMUND  181 

seemed,  cut  off  from  Harfleur,  had  defeated  his 
pursuers  in  a  fight  known  as  the  Battle  of  Cany.^ 
But  while  Sigismund  was  in  England,  the  Constable 
of  Armagnac  in  May  attacked  Harfleur  with  a 
considerable  force.  A  fleet  was  also  got  together 
by  hiring  ships  from  the  Genoese  and  Venetians. 
Thus  Harfleur  was  shut  in  by  land  and  by  sea.  The 
French  fleet  even  crossed  the  Channel  and  attempted 
to  burn  Southampton,  but  were  beaten  off.  They 
managed,  however,  to  burn  all  the  houses  on  the 
Isle  of  Portland,  but  without  finding  any  of  the 
inhabitants  there.  ^  Henry  would  have  sent  an  army 
over  to  France  and  begun  the  great  war  again  then 
and  there,  but  the  French  at  this  moment  reopened 
negotiations.  So  the  truce  already  mentioned  was 
made,  but  broken  off  again  towards  the  end  of  June. 
In  June  and  July,  Sigismund  was  lodged  in  Leeds 
Castle  in  Kent.  Henry  spent  a  good  deal  of  time  at 
Southampton  and  Portsmouth,  preparing  for  the 
war  that  was  soon  to  come.  English  envoys  were 
still  negotiating  with  the  government  in  France,  yet 
all  the  time  the  French  kept  up  their  naval  power  in 
front  of  Harfleur.  The  English  ambassadors  com- 
plained that  they  were  badly  treated,  being  practically 
confined  to  their  lodging,  which,  moreover,  they  had 
to  provide  for  at  their  own  expense.^  The  negotia- 
tions were  kept  up  by  the  French  in  order  to  con- 
sume time  ;  meanwhile  Harfleur  was  in  ever  greater 
danger.     But  early  in  August  ships  were  ready,  and 

1  Ibid.,  71-2.  »  Ibid..  79-80.  »  Ibid.,  84. 


182  HENRY  V  [1416 

Henry  himself  intended  to  lead  the  expedition.  He 
was,  however,  dissuaded  from  this  by  Sigismund, 
and  he  appointed  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  Bedford, 
instead.  Then  the  king  returned  to  London.  Bedford's 
expedition  was  brilliantly  successful.  It  was  not  till 
14  August  that  he  obtained  a  favourable  wind  for 
crossing  the  Channel.  Then  he  set  sail.  News  of  the 
sailing  of  the  fleet  was  brought  to  Henry  at  West- 
minster the  same  night.  The  king  at  once  betook 
himself  to  prayer  for  the  success  of  his  men.^  Next 
day  he  sent  to  a  friend  of  his,  a  recluse  at  West- 
minster, to  the  Carthusians,  and  to  his  own  foundation 
at  Sheen,  that  prayers  should  be  made  for  the  safety 
of  the  expedition.  On  that  very  day  Bedford's  ships 
were  engaging  with  the  French  and  Genoese  ships. 
The  "  carracks  "  of  the  enemy  towered  above  the 
Enghsh  ships,  but  Bedford's  men  boarded  them  and 
captured  four  out  of  the  eight  Genoese  ships  and  a 
number  not  stated  of  the  French.  ^  After  the  victory, 
Bedford  who  had  distinguished  himself  throughout 
from  the  time  when  he  took  his  own  ship  ahead  of 
all  the  rest  into  action,  relieved  Harfleur  with  a 
plentiful  supply  of  victuals. 

On  the  very  day  of  the  naval  victory  Henry  and 
Sigismund  concluded  a  second  treaty  of  alliance 
with  each  other  at  Canterbury.^  This  treaty  con- 
sisted of  two  parts  :   in  the  first  Sigismund  stated  his 

1  Ibid.,  86. 

^  Livius,  op.  cit.,  26  ;   Qesta  Henrici  Quinti,  87-8. 

'  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  377  ff. 


i4i6]  SIGISMUND  183 

obligations  and  compacts  towards  Henry  ;  in  the 
second  Henry  stated  his  towards  Sigismund.  To- 
gether they  formed  a  complete  bond  of  alliance. 
The  emperor  (or  as  he  correctly  calls  himself  the  king 
of  the  Romans)  stated  in  the  opening  words  of  the 
treaty  that,  urged  by  a  desire  for  the  unity  and 
tranquillity  of  the  whole  Church,  he  had  tried  to 
mediate  between  Charles,  king  of  the  Franks,  and 
Henry,  king  of  England  and  France,  and  Lord  of 
Ireland.  But  the  aforesaid  Charles  had  ultimately 
shown  that  he  did  not  want  peace.  King  Henry 
had  meanwhile  amply  proved  to  the  emperor  the 
wrongs  he  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  Charles.  So 
Sigismund  had  resolved  to  conclude  a  treaty  of  per- 
petual amity  for  himself  and  his  successors,  the 
Roman  kings  and  emperors  on  one  side,  and  Henry 
and  his  successors  whoever  they  might  be  on  the 
other.  The  alliance  bound  the  two  men  against  all 
parties  whatsoever,  at  any  time,  except  against  the 
Holy  Roman  Church  and  the  Roman  pontiff.  The 
two  monarchs  promised  to  prevent  their  respective 
subjects  and  vassals  from  harming  each  other  ;  and 
to  grant  unimpeded  trade  between  the  men  of 
England  and  the  empire,  so  long  as  the  imposts  were 
paid  and  the  laws  of  the  two  realms  obeyed.  The  two 
monarchs  finally  bound  themselves  to  assist  each 
other  in  any  wars  they  should  have  with  the  French 
for  recovery  of  their  respective  rights. 

After    the    conclusion    of    this    treaty,    the    two 
monarchs   intended  to  proceed   to   Calais,  where   a 


184  HENRY  V  [1416 

colloquy  was  to  be  held  with  the  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
and  a  final  meeting  was  to  take  place  with  French 
ambassadors.  On  21  August,  Henry,  Avho  was  at 
the  little  port  of  Small-Hythe  on  the  Rother,  heard 
of  the  great  naval  victory  which  the  Duke  of  Bedford 
had  won  off  Harfleur  on  the  loth.  The  king  immedi- 
ately rode  to  Canterbury  and  told  the  news  to  Sigis- 
mund.  Together,  like  two  brothers,  they  went  to 
the  cathedral,  and  took  part  in  singing  the  "  Te 
Deum."i 

At  the  end  of  the  month  the  emperor  crossed  from 
Dover  to  Calais.  Henry  followed  him  with  forty 
ships,  on  4  September,  from  Sandwich.  He  was  met 
by  Sigismund  when  he  landed  on  the  shore.  They 
embraced  with  great  joy  and  went  through  the  town, 
conversing  together.  Henry  went  to  the  castle 
where  he  was  to  stay  ;  Sigismund  was  lodged  in  one 
of  the  great  houses  or  "  hotels "  which  were  the 
property  of  the  king. 

Henry  remained  at  Calais  for  just  over  a  month. 
During  this  time  he  held  conversations  with  John, 
Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  with  ambassadors  from  the 
king  of  France,  as  well  as  with  Sigismund.  The 
negotiations  are  important  as  they  show  two  things  : 
first,  that  a  lasting  peace  with  France  was  as  far  off 
as  ever  ;  and  second,  that  the  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
although  not  yet  ready  for  a  military  alliance  with 
England,  was  never  favourable  to  a  policy  of  sup- 
porting Henry's  "  adversary  of  France." 

1  Oeata  Henrici  Quinti,  89-90, 


I4I6]  SIGISMUND  185 

Sigismund  still  used  his  influence  in  favour  of 
peace.  He  remained  during  the  month  of  September 
at  Calais.  A  deputation  from  the  king  of  France, 
headed  by  the  Archbishop  of  Rheims,  arrived  at  the 
end  of  September.  But  the  negotiations  for  peace 
again  came  to  little  or  nothing.  The  French  govern- 
ment, under  the  vigorous  influence  of  the  Constable 
Bernard  of  Armagnac,  thought  that  they  could  re- 
gain by  war  all  that  they  had  lost,  instead  of  having  to 
submit  to  the  loss  which  would  be  involved  by  any 
compromise.  So  the  outcome  of  the  negotiations 
was  a  further  extension  of  the  period  of  truce  till 
2  February,  1417.^  This  agreement  was  concluded 
on  3  October. 

It  was  about  the  same  time,  2  or  3  October, 
that  John,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  arrived  in  Calais. 
His  retinue  may  have  numbered  as  many  as  eight 
hundred  men.  King  Henry's  brother,  Humphrey, 
Duke  of  Gloucester,  was  sent  to  St.  Omer,  on  the 
frontier  of  the  English  Pale,  in  the  Burgundian 
dominions,  as  a  hostage  for  the  safe  return  of  Duke 
John.  At  St.  Omer  Humphrey  showed  some  of  that 
tactlessness  and  recklessness  which  in  later  days 
were  to  have  such  disastrous  effects  on  England's 
relations  with  Burgundy.  On  arriving  at  St.  Omer 
Humphrey  was  honourably  received  by  the  heir  of 
Burgundy,  Philip,  Count  of  Charolais,  and  by  a  fine 
assemblage  of  lords.  Next  day  Philip  called  at  the 
mansion  where  Humphrey  was  lodged  ;    "  but  when 

1  Rjnuer,  Foedera,  IX,  399. 


186  HENRY  V  [1416 

he  came  into  the  room  of  the  said  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
the  latter,  having  his  shoulder  turned  towards  him, 
and  speaking  to  his  own  people,  made  no  effort  to  do 
reverence  as  was  fit  to  the  said  count.  And  at  last 
what  reverence  he  did  do  was  of  the  briefest,  saying, 
'  Welcome,  good  cousin,'  without  going  to  meet  him. 
Thus  he  continued  speaking  for  a  long  time  to  his 
English  attendants  so  that  the  Count  of  Charolais 
(notwithstanding  his  youth)  was  very  ill-pleased."^ 

At  Calais,  king  Henry  and  Duke  John  of  Burgundy 
carried  on  formal  negotiations.  The  king  wished  the 
duke  to  conclude  a  definite  alliance  with  England 
against  Charles  of  France.  But  D  uke  John,  although 
he  was  at  the  time  in  hostile  occupation  of  some  of 
king  Charles'  territory,  would  not  yet  enter  into 
formal  alliance  with  the  enemies  of  France.  How- 
ever, he  agreed  to  a  truce  with  England  (that  is  to 
say,  to  neutrality),  to  endure  till  Michaelmas,  1419.2 
As  the  truce  between  England  and  France  would 
expire  early  in  the  year  1417,  it  was  clear  that  France 
would  receive  no  help  from  Burgundy  when  the  war 
between  Henry  and  Charles  was  renewed.  The 
independent  position  of  John  of  Burgundy  with 
regard  to  his  suzerain,  the  king  of  France,  was  further 
demonstrated  by  the  homage  which  he  performed  to 

1  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  clxi  ;  Waurin,  op.  cit.  (230),  says  the 
count  entertained  Humphrey  most  courteously,  and  was  cordially 
thanked  by  the  Duke. 

^  This  was  an  extension  of  a  truce  concluded  in  the  previous 
June  (1416)  by  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  Captain  of  Calais.  Holinshed, 
Chronicles,  558. 


I4I6-I7]  SIGISMUND  187 

the  emperor  Sigismund,  for  the  counties  of  Burgundy 
and  Alost,  which,  unHke  Flanders  and  ducal  Bur- 
gundy, were,  strictly  speaking,  fiefs  of  the  empire,  and 
not  of  the  French  crown.  ^ 

The  business  which  had  brought  Henry  to  Calais 
with  Sigismund  was  now  practically  completed. 
Between  14  and  18  October,  probably  on  the  16th, 
the  king  returned  to  England.  John  of  Burgundy 
had  already^  gone  back  to  Flanders,  and  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester,  released  from  his  position  as  hostage, 
escorted  Sigismund  to  Dordrecht.  From  there 
Sigismund  returned  to  the  Council  of  Constance, 
having  accomplished  a  long  journey,  in  which  if  he 
had  not  been  the  great  peacemaker  of  Europe,  he 
had  at  least  gained  the  firm  support  of  the  mighty 
and  orthodox  king  of  England.  Agincourt  had 
raised  the  name  of  England  to  the  highest  point  it 
attained  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  reputation  of 
Sigismund  had  risen  with  the  English  alliance.  He 
was  now  able  to  work  steadily  at  the  Council  of 
Constance  towards  the  achievement  of  his  great 
object,  the  unity  of  the  Church.  At  last  his  efforts 
were  crowned  with  success  :  on  11  November,  1417, 
Cardinal  Otho  Colonna  was  elected  pope  at  Constance, 
and  assumed  the  name  of  Martin  V.  From  that  time 
the  papacy  has  been  without  schism,  and,  notwith- 
standing the  breach  caused  by  the  Renaissance  and 
Reformation,  has  gone  on  increasing  in  centralised 

^  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  clxi. 

*  He  had  stayed  eight  days  in  Calais.    Waurin,  op.  cit.,  231. 


188  HENRY  V  [1417 

strength  and  efficiency.  In  the  momentous  election 
of  Martin  V,  king  Henry  worked  hand  in  hand  with 
Sigismund.  England  was  represented  by  a  strong 
deputation.  It  was  Henry  Beaufort,  Bishop  of 
Winchester,  who  by  his  eloquence  and  judgment 
finally  stirred  the  Council  definitely  to  hold  an 
election  of  a  new  pope  ;  and  it  was  the  Bishop  of 
London  who,  when  various  names  were  proposed  in 
the  conclave,  brought  the  Fathers  on  St.  Martin's 
day  to  a  final  agreement  over  the  name  of  the 
Cardinal  of  Colonna,^  "the  creator  of  the  modern 
papacy."  2 

*  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  319-20.  Cp.  Stubbs,  Constitutional 
History,  III,  96,  note  :  "Whoever  was  the  nominator,  the  election 
was  the  result  of  the  league  between  Henry  and  Sigismund."  Cp. 
Lenz  :  Konig  Sigismund  und  Heinrich  V,  p.  183  ff. 

*  Stubbs,  op.  cit.,  96. 


CHAPTER    X 

THE  CONQUEST  OF  NORMANDY 

The  life  of  a  medieval  king  can  only  be  written 
as  a  series  of  episodes.  Only  very  occasionally, 
as  in  Joinville's  Life  of  Louis  IX,  is  a  picture  of 
the  ordinary  daily  life  of  the  sovereign  given.  The 
materials  for  the  life  of  Henry  V  are  of  a  different 
kind.  To  the  age  in  which  he  lived  he  was  the 
splendid  soldier,  a  great  warrior,  a  profound  states- 
man. His  outstanding  exploits  captured  the  imagina- 
tion of  his  contemporaries,  so  that  the  memory  left 
of  him  is  that  of  a  series  of  great  episodes.  It  is  hard 
to  put  together  any  picture  of  his  private  life  between 
these  episodes.  Indeed,  few  medieval  kings,  and 
least  of  all  Henry  V,  had  time  for  a  private  life. 
Their  day  was  spent  between  the  saddle  and  the 
council-table.  The  business  of  the  nation,  cases  of 
justice,  the  inspection  of  accounts,  the  receiving  of 
petitions,  occupied  most  of  the  king's  time.  Brief 
holidays,  frequently  combined  with  the  hearing  of 
local  petitions  and  law-cases,  were  spent  at  some 
royal  hunting-seat.  Attendance  at  the  daily  offices 
of  religion  occupied  some  of  the  short  time  left 
from     business.      For    private    reading,     of    which 

189 


190  HENRY  V  [1416 

Henry  V  was    fond,^    there    can    have    been    httle 
leisure. 

As  the  French  government  not  unnaturally  refused 
to  give  up  any  territory,  king  Henry  set  out  to  win 
the  whole  kingdom.  But  the  invasion  of  France  did 
not  take  place  for  another  nine  months.  During  this 
period  Henry  was  at  home,  making  careful  prepara- 
tions for  the  expedition.  In  the  parliament  which 
reassembled  (19  October)  immediately  after  his 
return  from  Calais,  the  decision  for  the  renewal  of 
the  war  with  France  was  announced.  The  usual 
public  business  was  transacted  :  the  commons  voted 
two  "aids"  to  the  king,^  and  the  clergy  in  con- 
vocation voted  a  similar  contribution.  The  alliance 
of  the  English  crown  with  the  emperor  Sigismund 
was  confirmed.  Two  deserved  promotions  in  the 
peerage  were  announced.  The  hard-worked  Captain 
of  Harfleur,  Thomas  Beaufort,  Earl  of  Dorset,  was 
raised  by  Henry  to  be  Duke  of  Exeter  for  life  only, 
with  annually  1000  marks  from  the  royal  treasury, 
and  £40  from  the  king's  dues  at  Exeter.  Henry's 
generosity  was  popular,  as  was  shown  by  the  answer 
of  the  peers  when  asked  if  they  approved  of  the 
grant :  they  answered  that  they  did,  only  the  gift 
was  too  small  for  the  duke's  merits.^  The  second 
promotion  also  shows  the  generous  character  of  king 

*  Cp.  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  742,  the  answer  of  a  noble  of  Guyenne 
to  the  king's  request  for  a  loan  of  Quiron  le  Courteoie.  From  the 
plunder  of  Caen,  Henry  retained  only  a  book  of  histor'^  First 
English  Life  (ed.  Kingsford),  92. 

*  Holla  of  Pari.,  IV,  95. 

^  Walsingharn,  Historia  Anglicana,  II,  317. 


i4i6]       THE  CONQUEST  OF  NORMANDY       191 

Henry.  The  young  John  Holland,  who,  like  Thomas 
Beaufort,  was  related  to  the  king  through  John  of 
Gaunt,  was  the  son  of  a  former  John,  executed  and 
attainted  for  conspiring  against  Henry  IV  in  1400. 
But  Henry  V  treated  the  son  well,  just  as  he  treated 
the  young  Richard  of  York,  son  of  that  Earl  of 
Cambridge  who  had  conspired  against  the  king  on 
the  eve  of  the  expedition  to  Agincourt.  The  young 
John,  now  twenty-one  years  old,  had  been  taken  into 
the  royal  service,  had  fought  well  at  Agincourt,  and 
so  was  now  restored  to  the  honours  and  estates  of 
the  earldom  of  Huntingdon,  one  of  the  titles  of  his 
attainted  father.^  He  was  to  rise  still  higher  in  the 
king's  service,  and  ultimately  to  finish  an  honourable 
career  of  military  and  administrative  work,  as  Duke 
of  Exeter.  He  died  in  1447.  The  great  quasi-royal 
houses  of  Holland  and  Beaufort  were,  in  the  time 
of  the  unfortunate  son  of  Henry  V,  the  chief  support 
of  the  Lancastrian  dynasty.  So  the  generosity  of 
the  king  was  well  repaid.  His  generosity  towards 
the  house  of  York  did  not  meet  with  a  similar  return. 
Christmas,  1416,  was  spent  by  Henry  at  Kenil- 
worth,  the  only  thing  which  marred  the  peace  of  the 
country  being  the  fear  of  Lollard  plots.  But  the 
government  was  alert  and  vigorous,  and  all  mani- 
festations were  quickly  suppressed.  Oldcastle  was 
still  at  large,  in  hiding,  but  his  fate  was  not  far  off. 
Henry  spent  the  next  six  months  in  active  prepara- 
tions for  his  new  expedition  to  France.     The  same 

1  Rolla  of  Pari.,  IV,  100. 


192  HENRY  V  [1417 

thoroughness  is  here  to  be  noted  as  in  the  months 
preceding  the  expedition  to  Harfleur  and  Agincourt. 
It  was  a  busy  time,  for  the  king  personally  attended 
to  everything.  The  arrangements  for  this  expedition 
were  much  the  same  as  for  the  former.  The  military 
non-combatant  branches  of  the  army  were  all  care- 
fully attended  to :  contracts  were  made  for  the 
raising  of  soldiers  ;  carpenters,  masons,  engineers,  all 
were  provided  ;  physicians,  surgeons  and  chaplains 
were  engaged.  In  one  respect  a  great  advance  was 
made  :  the  second  expedition  of  Henry  V  to  France 
is  one  of  the  chief  epochs  in  the  development  of  the 
English  royal  navy. 

Apart  from  the  ships  which  were  supplied  by  the 
Cinque  Ports,  and  the  merchant  craft  which  were 
pressed  into  the  king's  service  for  this  expedition, 
Henry  caused  ships  to  be  built  under  his  own  personal 
supervision,  ^  for  the  increase  of  the  permanent  royal 
navy.  By  August,  1417,  the  king  possessed  no  less 
than  twenty-six  ships.  The  ships  of  the  royal  navy 
were  increased  both  in  number  and  also  in  size.^  He 
probably  also  issued  a  code  of  regulations  before  the 
expedition  started,  but  the  great  extant  code  of  his 
which  survives  was  issued  two  years  later  at  Mantes.  ^ 

King  Henry  was  at  Southampton  during  July, 
mobilising  the  fleet.  The  French  government 
was  not  inactive  ;     a   mixed   fleet  of  hired   French 

*  Nicolas,  History  of  the  Royal  Navy,  II,  402,  and  note  a. 

*  Ibid.,  Appendix,  515. 

'  Black  Book  of  the  Admiralty  (Rolls  Series),  I,  459. 


14171       THE  CONQUEST  OF  NORMANDY       193 

and  Genoese  ships  lay  off  Harfleur  to  intercept  the 
EngHsh  expedition.  But  king  Henry  sent  the  Earl 
of  Huntingdon  to  sea  with  a  squadron  to  deal  with 
the  enemy.  The  earl  engaged  the  enemy  in  a  hand- 
to-hand  fight  on  25  July,  and  completely  defeated 
them,  taking  four  great  carracks  as  prizes.^ 

By  23  July,  the  expedition  was  ready  to  start.  It 
consisted  of  16,400  fighting  men — nobles,  knights,  and 
men-at-arms,  archers  and  artillery-men.  In  addition 
there  were  1000  masons  and  carpenters.  ^  But  as 
each  man-at-arms  was  understood,  according  to  the 
indentures  made  with  the  king,  to  be  accompanied 
by  a  valet,  and  as  nobles  would  be  accompanied  by 
servants,  the  total  force,  all  of  whom  could  fight  if 
necessary,  would  amount  to  about  40,000  men.^ 
The  fleet  which  transported  the  army  consisted  of 
1500  ships,  of  which  117  were  hired  from  Holland, 
the  rest  being  English.^  The  king  took  with  him 
two  of  his  brothers,  Thomas,  Duke  of  Clarence,  one 
of  the  most  dashing  soldiers  of  the  age,  and  Humphrey, 
Duke  of  Gloucester.  The  other  brother,  the  prudent 
John,  Duke  of  Bedford,  was  left  as  warden  of  England 
during  the  king's  absence.  The  Scots  were  not 
likely  to  be  dangerous,  as  their  king,  James  I,  was 
still  in  honourable  confinement. 

1  "Elmhain,"  op.  cit.,  93-5  ;   Nicolas,  Royal  Navy,  II,  432-3. 

^  "Elmhani,"  op.  cit.,  92. 

^  M.  Puiseux  in  his  Prise  de  Caen  adda  to  this  number  22.000 
archers.  But  the  fleet  of  1500  ships  could  not  have  carried  more 
than  40,000  men.  Cp.  the  Expedition  to  Agincourt — 1500  ships  to 
30,000  men. 

*  "Elmham,"  op,  cit.,  92  ;   Nicolas,  Royal  Navy.,  II,  434. 
O 


194  HENRY  V  [1417 

The  fleet  sailed  on  29  July,  and  arrived  on  1  August 
in  the  mouth  of  the  Seine  at  Touques,  four  miles  from 
Harfleur,  and  one  mile  south  of  the  modern  watering- 
place  of  Trouville.  There  was  no  fleet  after  the  Earl 
of  Huntingdon's  victory  to  obstruct  the  king's  pas- 
sage, nor  was  there  any  army  to  oppose  him  when 
he  landed,  for  Henry  had  skilfully  concealed  his 
destination  even  from  his  immediate  friends.^ 

This  his  second  expedition  to  France  is  the  greatest 
proof  of  the  genius  of  Henry  V.  The  first  expedition, 
that  of  Agincourt,  was  the  most  dazzling,  the  most 
glorious.  But  except  for  the  precarious  acquisition 
of  Harfleur,  it  had  been  without  result.  The  astonish- 
ing victory  of  Agincourt  had  been  followed  by  the 
return  of  the  king's  forces  to  England,  no  nearer  to 
the  possession  of  Normandy  nor  of  the  French 
crown.  Henry  had  shown  himself  a  brilliant  fighter, 
a  great  leader  of  men.  But  it  was  in  the  expedition 
of  1417  that  he  displayed  that  profound  strategy 
which  distinguished  him  above  all  other  medieval 
generals. 

In  the  Middle  Ages  commanders  seldom  looked 
further  than  to  the  particular  battle  or  siege  that 
loomed  ahead  of  them.  Their  main  idea  was  the 
very  natural  one  of  finding  out  the  enemy,  wherever 
he  should  be,  and  crushing  him  in  a  hand-to-hand 
conflict.  But  when  he  had  crushed  the  enemy,  the 
medieval  general  seldom  knew  what  to  do  in  order  to 
utiHse  his  victory.  This  is  why  the  wars  of  the 
1  "Elmhain,"  op.  cit.,  97. 


I4I7]       THE  CONQUEST  OF  NORMANDY       195 

Middle  Ages  were  so  long  and  so  inelieetual,  and  why 
the  most  tremendous  disasters  like  Crecy,  Poitiers 
and  Agincourt  did  not  lay  France  at  the  feet  of  her 
enemy.  In  the  same  way,  the  crusades  were  conducted 
as  a  series  of  somewhat  haphazard  battles  and  sieges 
with  the  simple  object  in  view  of  reaching  or  keeping 
Jerusalem.  William  the  Conqueror  was  one  of  the 
few  medieval  generals  whose  view  extended  beyond 
the  winning  of  a  great  pitched  battle,  or  the  reduction 
of  a  great  city.  The  battle  of  Hastings  was  only  the 
first  step  in  an  elaborate  campaign.  Henry  V  is 
another  rare  example  of  a  really  constructive  general. 
In  1417  he  set  out  to  win  the  Duchy  of  Normandy, 
and  his  plan,  although  when  put  into  action  it  was 
devoid  of  all  brilliant  and  startling  events,  was  the 
only  sure  way  to  gain  his  end. 

A  smaller  man  would  have  allowed  the  forces  of 
France  to  concentrate  and  then  would  have  tried  to 
annihilate  them  in  a  pitched  battle,  which,  if  successful 
would  not  have  put  him  much  nearer  to  the  possession 
of  Normandy,  for  an  interminable  local  resistance 
would  have  been  encountered.  Or  he  would  have 
made  for  Rouen,  the  capital  of  the  duchy,  and  in- 
vesting it  would  have  laid  his  communications  open 
to  attack  from  some  uncaptured  town  between  his 
army  and  the  coast ;  and  if  he  captured  Rouen  he 
would  still  have  had  to  reduce  all  the  other  towns, 
the  local  capitals  of  the  districts  of  Normandy,  with 
all  their  local  strength  and  patriotism. 

But  in  the  expedition  of  1417  king  Henry's  plan 


196  HENRY  V  [1417 

was  deep,  original  and  comprehensive.  Starting 
from  Touques  he  meant  to  make  a  circular  march 
taking  in  the  lesser  towns  and  fortresses  of  Normandy, 
and  ultimately  to  come  before  Rouen,  but  to  the 
south  of  it,  so  as  to  be  between  it  and  Paris.  By  this 
circular  march  he  would  isolate  Normandy,  and 
incidentally  force  Brittany  and  Anjou  into  neutrality, 
besides  paralysing  all  efforts  at  combined  resistance 
on  the  part  of  the  local  nobility  of  the  Cotentin  and 
other  districts  of  Normandy.  ^ 

At  the  same  time  Henry's  understanding  with  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy  prevented  the  government  of 
France  from  taking  vigorous  action,  as  the  Bur- 
gundian  party  was  very  powerful  in  Paris  ;  and  the 
alliance  with  Sigismund,  the  emperor,  tended  to 
draw  Genoa  away  from  the  French  side,  and  to 
diminish  the  number  of  mercenaries  and  ships  from 
that  quarter. 

On  1  August,  Henry  disembarked  at  Touques.  The 
castle  there  was  held  by  five  hundred  knights,  who 
made  a  gallant  attempt  to  oppose  the  English  army, 
without  success.  On  3  August,  the  garrison  agreed 
to  capitulate,  if  not  relieved  before  the  9th.  This 
was  a  very  common  stipulation  and  was  not  made 
so  much  in  the  likelihood  of  being  relieved  as  to  save 
the  honour  of  the  garrison.  King  Henry  allowed 
them  their  lives  and  goods  in  the  terms  of  capitula- 
tion. ^ 

1  Cp.  Puiseux,  Prise  de  Caen.  82-3. 
'  Rymer,  Focdera,  IX,  479-80. 


I4I7]       THE  CONQUEST  OF  NORMANDY        197 

Henry  next  made  a  sweeping  movement  by 
Grentheville,  St.  Andre-de-Fontenay  and  Eterville, 
appearing  before  Caen  on  18  August.  On  this  march, 
by  occupying  these  small  places,  he  isolated  Caen 
from  the  country  around.  Then  he  opened  a  formal 
siege,  the  successful  conclusion  of  which  was  the 
first  great  step  in  the  conquest  of  Normandy. 

Caen  was  the  metropolis  of  the  fertile  region  called 
Calvados.  It  is  estimated  to  have  had  at  that  time  a 
population  of  forty  thousand  people.  ^  Situated  on 
the  river  Orne,  it  was  a  great  distributing  centre  for 
goods  which  arrived  both  by  land  and  by  sea.  Corn, 
cider  and  oxen  came  in  by  land,  wool  and  wine  by 
sea.  The  drapers  of  Caen  carried  on  a  large  industry 
in  cloth-making  ;  the  new  houses  of  the  wealthy 
burgesses  vied  with  the  more  ancient  hotels  of  the 
provincial  nobility,  who  had  seats  in  this  local 
metropolis.  The  importance  of  the  city  is  seen  by 
the  fact  that  for  the  next  two  years  king  Henry 
made  it  the  head-quarters  of  his  army,  and  by  the 
great  efforts  he  made  to  have  the  town  colonised 
from  England.  By  its  capture  he  hoped  to  gain 
considerable  wealth  for  his  undertaking,  but  in  this 
he  and  his  soldiers  were  disappointed,  as  the  inhabi- 
tants had  prudently  sent  much  of  their  property  to 
other  places. 

The  siege  lasted  in  all  exactly  a  month.  This  was 
a  serious  check  to  Henry's  career  of  conquest,  and 

^  Puiseux,  Prise  de  Caen,  13.  But  Lavisse,  Histoire  de  France, 
IV,  374,  puts  the  population  at  25,000. 


198  HENRY  V  [1417 

would  have  been  more  serio\is  had  the  French 
government  known  how  to  utiUse  the  delay.  But  the 
parties  of  Burgundy  and  Armagnac  were  still  dis- 
puting for  the  person  of  Charles  VI.  On  18  September, 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy  appeared  with  armed  forces 
outside  Paris.  The  Armagnacs  still  held  Paris,  indeed, 
but  their  rule  there  was  a  reign  of  terror,  which  made 
the  population  of  the  cajMtal  more  ready  than  ever 
to  oppose  them,  and  to  choose  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  ^ 

Caen,  although  a  walled  town,  was  by  no  means 
strong,  as  it  was  cut  in  two  by  the  river  Orne,  and 
also  could  be  commanded  by  two  abbeys  :  St. 
Stephen  and  Holy  Trinity,  on  the  west  and  east  sides 
of  the  town.  Some  attempt  was  made  to  hold  these 
by  the  townspeople,  but  the  day  before  the  arrival 
of  the  English  army,  the  dashing  Duke  of  Clarence 
had  come  up  galloping  with  one  thousand  men-at- 
arms,  and  had  seized  the  monastery  of  St.  Stephen. 
There  king  Henry  fixed  his  quarters  during  the  siege, 
while  Clarence  fixed  his  at  Holy  Trinity.  The  other 
commanders  were  stationed  round  the  town  at 
regular  intervals,  and  trenches  were  dug  to  connect 
all  together.  English  ships  in  the  Orne  prevented 
any  chance  of  relief  from  the  sea. 

The  siege  was  conducted  personally  by  the  king 
with  the  greatest  prudence.  The  towers  of  St. 
Stephen's  monastery  afforded  him  excellent  oppor- 
tunities of  viewing  the  whole  situation.  He  even 
had  some  small  cannon  taken  up  on  to  the  roofs  and 

^  Monstrelet,  La  Chronique,  CLXXXIII. 


PLAN     OF     CAEN 


From  Puiseux  Prise  de  Caen 
(Caen  1858) 


Plan  of  Caen. 


Face  page  i  % 


1417]      THE  CONQUEST  OF  NORMANDY       190 

towers,  so  that  shot  could  be  poured  into  the  heart 
of  the  town.  ^  The  river  was  spanned  by  portable 
leather  boats,  stretched  on  wooden  frames,  which 
allowed  the  soldiers  to  pass  quickly  in  large  numbers 
from  one  side  to  the  other. 

The  siege  is  an  interesting  one  in  the  development 
of  military  science ;  it  shows  a  curious  union  of 
ancient  and  modern  methods.  The  archers  can  have 
been  of  little  use ;  more  execution  was  probably 
done  by  the  light  guns  on  the  roofs  and  towers.  The 
heavier  cannon  fired  great  balls,  made  of  iron  or  of 
marble.  The  English  also  used  a  species  of  shell,  a 
hollow  iron  ball,  stuffed  with  straw,  sulphur  and 
other  combustible  material,  with  a  fuse  attached. 
The  whole  became  ignited  when  the  ball  was  hurtling 
through  the  air,  so  that  as  a  result  much  of  the  town 
was  burned.  The  walls  which  seem  to  have  been 
rather  weak  (Caen  had  been  unwalled  in  the  days 
of  Edward  III)  soon  showed  breaches  made  by  the 
English  artillery,  but  the  besieged  managed  to  repair 
them  each  night.  Then  king  Henry  started  his  men 
digging  mines  under  the  walls  ;  but  the  besieged 
discovered  these  by  placing  vessels  brimful  of  water 
on  the  ground.  If  a  mine  was  being  dug  below,  the 
water  was  seen  to  tremble.  ^ 

But  Caen  was  doomed.  Its  defenders,  one  thousand 
two  hundred  men-at-arms,  and  between  five  and  six 

*  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  323. 

*  See  Puiseux,  Prise  de  (^aert,  40-4,  where  authorities  are 
quoted. 


200  HENRY  V  [1417 

thousand  burgess  militia,  were  no  match  for  the 
Enghsh  army.  On  4  September,  seventeen  days  after 
the  siege  had  opened,  the  town  after  it  had  been 
summoned  to  surrender  by  the  king  was  taken  by 
assault.  The  Duke  of  Clarence  was  the  first  to 
effect  an  entrance  over  the  walls  ;  he  then  fought 
his  way  with  his  men  across  the  town  to  the  west 
side,  where  the  king's  forces  were  making  the  assault. 
The  burgesses  were  attacked  in  front  and  behind. 
Caen  being  thus  taken  by  storm  after  terms  had  been 
offered  was  the  booty  of  the  victors.  Another 
account  says  that  the  Earl  of  Warwick  was  the  first 
to  scale  the  wall,  but  that  he  waited  on  the  top  for 
the  Duke  of  Clarence  to  come  up.^ 

But  Henry  is  said  to  have  kept  his  men  in  order  of 
battle  until  next  morning,  when  he  summoned  the 
magistrates  before  him  in  the  town-hall,  and  ad- 
judged some  (it  is  not  said  how  many)  to  death  for 
their  stubbornness  ;  the  rest  were  heavily  fined. 
Next  he  assembled  the  army,  and  after  making  a 
speech  commending  them  for  their  work,  he  divided 
the  booty  of  the  town  among  them.^  It  is  probable 
that  complete  order  was  not  maintained  among  the 
soldiers,  but  it  is  agreed  that  Henry  was  very  strict 
in  preventing  violence  to  women,  and  that  the 
churches  at  least  were  carefully  protected.^ 

»  Pageant  of  R.  B.  Earl  of  Warwick,  p.  73. 

2  The  king  first  made  tlie  booty  over  to  the  Duke  of  Clarence, 
who  generously  divided  it  up  among  the  soldiers.  Henry  only 
reserved  for  himself  "  a  goodly  French  book,  of  what  liistory  I 
have  not  lieard."     First  English  Life,  02. 

2  "Elraham,"  op.  cit...  113. 


I4I7]       THE  CONQUEST  OF  NORMANDY       201 

Although  the  town  of  Caen  was  taken  on  4  Septem- 
ber, the  garrison  of  the  castle  did  not  agree  to  capitu- 
late until  the  14th  with  a  period  of  grace  to  be 
allowed  till  the  19th,  in  case  the  French  government 
should  send  an  army  to  relieve  them.  This  did  not 
happen,  and  accordingly  the  garrison  was  allowed 
to  march  away  taking  with  them  any  money  they 
had  up  to  the  sum  of  2000  gold  crowns  for  each  man. 
King  Henry  gave  every  soldier  a  safe-conduct  to 
Falaise.  ^ 

Henry  took  uj)  his  dwelling  in  the  ancient  palace 
of  the  Norman  dukes,  the  "  Manoir  du  roi,"  and  he 
made  proclamation  that  all  people  either  in  Caen 
itself  or  from  the  rest  of  Normandy,  who  should 
come  and  swear  allegiance  to  him  as  king  of 
France  and  Duke  of  Normandy,  might  take  up  their 
dwelling  peacefully  in  the  city.  A  number  took 
advantage  of  this  offer,  but  it  seems  certain  that  the 
bulk  of  the  people  of  Caen  prepared  to  emigrate. 
Their  places  were  partly  filled  by  colonists  from 
England,  tradesmen  from  London,  who  hoped  to 
carry  on  the  commercial  prosperity  of  Caen  for  them- 
selves. Some  brought  their  wives  with  them,  and 
some  married  native  heiresses.  The  lower  clergy  of 
the  country  seem  as  a  whole  to  have  acquiesced  in 
the  English  supremacy.  King  Henry  greatly  favoured 
the  town,  and  reduced  the  taxes  which  had  hitherto 
been  levied  by  the  French  government.^    He  himself 

^  Walsinghain,  op.  cit.,  II,  325  ;    Ryiner,  Foedera,  IX,  493-4. 
-  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  117-18. 


202  HENRY  V  [1417 

remained  in  Caen  till  1  October,  and  again  next  year 
from  24-  to  28  February,  and  finally  made  a  long  stay 
from  21  April  till  21  May,  1418.  After  that  he 
transferred  his  attention  to  Rouen. 

While  Caen  was  being  besieged,  divisions  of  king 
Henry's  army  had  been  sweeping  the  country  around, 
and  had  captured  a  number  of  places  including  the 
important  cathedral  towns  of  Lisieux  and  Bayeux. 
The  commanders  of  the  English  flying  columns  were 
empowered  to  offer  life  and  property  to  all  who 
would  submit  and  swear  allegiance.^  But  there  is  no 
record  of  any  place  that  could  be  defended  being 
given  up  by  the  inhabitants  without  a  struggle. 

The  rest  of  the  winter  was  spent  by  the  king  partly 
in  pursuing  his  piecemeal  conquest  of  Normandy, 
partly  in  diplomatic  negotiations  with  the  Duke  of 
Brittany  and  with  the  royal  government  of  Paris. 
With  Brittany  the  existing  truce  was  easily  extended  ; 
but  the  peace  negotiations  with  the  French  govern- 
ment were  as  futile  as  ever.  Henry  must  have  been 
greatly  tempted  to  make  a  dash  for  Paris  ;  but  he 
was  right  in  first  establishing  a  firm  power  in  Nor- 
mandy ;  an  advance  on  Paris  might  have  caused 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  who  himself  hoped  to  com- 
mand in  Paris,  to  turn  against  him. 

Leaving  Caen  on  1  October,  Henry  spent  three 
days  in  taking  the  castle  of  Courcie  ;  he  then  passed 
on,  capturing  without  great  difficulty  Argentan,  Sees 
and  Alencon.    Then  he  proceeded  to  a  more  difficult 

^    Rymer,  Foede.ra,  IX,  500. 


!.^'  H  • 

,y-;'-  1 

-«y^ 


1  i^  r  • 


^<^/ 


'te?-^ 


'vWi^  '  iB  ,f 'J 


^>4 


HOW  EARL  RICHARD  BESIEGED  THE  TOWN  OF  CAEN 
Warwick  Pageant.     Brit.  Mus.,  Cottonian  MS.,  Julius  E.  IV 


I4I7-I8]  THE  CONQUEST  OF  NORMANDY       203 

task,  on  1  December,  the  siege  of  the  strong  city  of 
Falaise.  Caen  was  the  burying-place  of  WilHam  the 
Conqueror ;  Falaise  was  the  birth-place  of  his 
mother.  King  Henry  must  have  felt  that  he  was 
merely  returning  to  the  home  of  his  ancestors.  The 
winter  was  severe,  but  the  careful  arrangements^ 
of  king  Henry  enabled  his  army  to  maintain  its 
health  and  spirits  through  December  and  January. 
On  2  January,  the  town  yielded  ;  on  6  February,  the 
castle  yielded  likewise,  the  king  as  usual  saving  the 
lives  and  property  of  the  garrison. 

After  a  short  visit  to  Caen,  in  order  to  superintend 
the  distribution  of  forfeited  lands  to  his  English 
subjects,  Henry  returned  to  Falaise  and  then  went 
to  Bayeux,  where  he  passed  most  of  Lent.  The 
Duke  of  Gloucester  with  a  separate  division  reduced 
most  of  western  Normandy,  although  Cherbourg,  the 
great  town  and  port  of  the  Cotentin,  did  not  capitulate 
till  the  following  September.  The  Duke  of  Clarence 
meanwhile  was  taking  in  the  small  towns  between 
Alengon  and  the  Seine.  On  9  June  Henry  besieged 
Louviers,  on  the  river  Eure,  just  sixteen  miles  south 
of  Rouen.  On  23  June,  Louviers  yielded.  ^  During 
this  siege  he  had  received  a  deputation  from  the  new 
pope,  Martin  V,  who  hoped  to  revive  the  papal 
position  as  peace-maker  and  mediator  in  Europe.^ 
But  neither  the  ambition  of  king  Henry,   nor  the 

*  Cp.  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  544,  contract  for  lampreys  to  be 
brought  from  Brittany. 

2  Walsingham,  op,  cit.,  II,  329. 

*  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  558. 


204  HENRY  V  [1418 

passions  of  the  rival  French  leaders,  gave  any  chance 
of  peace  at  this  time.  On  27  June,  Henry  with  his 
army  had  advanced  to  Pont  de  I'Arche,  on  the  Seine 
(just  eight  miles  above  Rouen,  towards  Paris).  His 
pontoon  service^  enabled  him  to  circumvent  this 
important  town  and  bridge,  so  that  by  20  July,  the 
garrison  besieged  by  English  divisions  from  both 
sides  of  the  river  surrendered.  Henry  at  once 
marched  to  Rouen. 

The  French  government  was  not  in  a  fit  condition 
to  organise  a  national  defence.  On  29  May,  one  of 
the  Burgundian  leaders,  the  Seigneur  de  I'lsle  Adam, 
was  admitted  with  his  men  by  a  sympathising 
burgher  into  Paris.  There  ensued  till  18  July  a  reign 
of  terror  in  the  capital.  The  Dauphin  managed  to 
escape  to  safety  at  Melun,  but  the  constable,  Bernard 
of  Armagnac,  was  one  of  the  first  victims  of  a  pro- 
longed and  horrible  massacre.  On  18  July,  Duke 
John  of  Burgundy,  who  had  hitherto  made  his  head- 
quarters at  Troyes,  entered  Paris  with  the  queen, 
and  taking  possession  of  Charles  VI,  organised  a  new 
government.  Thus  when  Henry  V  began  to  draw 
his  lines  round  Rouen  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  was  at 
the  head  of  the  national  French  government  which 
was  opposing  the  English  army. 

So  far  the  campaign  had  been  most  successful, 
half  a  province  having  been  conquered,  without  any 
great   loss   or   expense.      But   all   the   towns   taken, 

1  See  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  172,  description  of  Henry's  portable 
leather  boats. 


1418]       THE  CONQUEST  OF  NORMANDY       205 

although  important,  had  been  of  only  moderate  size. 
Henry's  new  move  was  something  to  strike  the 
imagination  of  all  France.  It  was  no  minor  provincial 
town  he  was  now  going  to  besiege  ;  ^  it  was  Rouen 
the  ancient  capital  of  Normandy,  after  Paris,  the 
greatest  city  in  France.^ 

The  siege  opened  on  29  July.  The  capture  of 
Pont  de  I'Arche  had  given  king  Henry  access  to  the 
right  bank  of  the  Seine.  Rouen  itself  is  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Seine  on  rising  ground.  It  communicated 
with  the  left  bank  by  a  strongly  fortified  bridge, 
which  the  garrison  of  the  town  held.  The  forces 
inside  Rouen  probably  numbered  about  20,000  men, 
of  whom  15,000  were  burgess  militia.  The  regular 
forces  thus  amounted  to  5000  men,  or  rather  less. 
Of  these  1500  had  lately  been  sent  by  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  under  command  of  Guy  le  Bouteiller. 

Although  Henry  had  received  some  reinforcements 
since  he  left  England  (notably  a  contingent  of  about 
1500  men,  whom  the  Duke  of  Exeter  brought  about 
May,  and  also  a  contingent  of  Irish),  ^  yet  his  army 
must  have  been  no  greater  than  the  defenders  of 
Rouen.  For  apart  from  the  inevitable  wastage 
caused  in  his  forces  by  nearly  a  year  of  constant 
warfare,  he  had  further  depleted  his  strength  by 
leaving  garrisons  in  the  conquered  towns.  ^     It  was 

^  Ibid.,  176  :  "  Non  in  debilia  et  modicae  reputationis  oppida 
seu  castella  intendebat  manus  regalis  extendere  potestatis." 

^  The  population  of  Rouen  is  said  to  have  been  300,000  !  Lavisse, 
Hiat.  de  France,  IV,  378. 

^  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  cxcvi.  *  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  2-tO. 


206  HENRY  V  [1418 

absolutely  necessary  to  leave  such  garrisons,  as  few 
of  the  Norman  gentry  had  acquiesced  in  Heniy's 
rule,  and  the  common  people  were  by  no  means 
enthusiastic  for  him.^ 

The  operations  of  the  siege  were  organised  with  all 
the  carefulness  that  was  characteristic  of  king  Henry. 
The  army  was  arranged  in  seven  divisions  :  one, 
under  the  king  himself,  took  its  station  opposite  the 
gate  of  St.  Hilary  ;  the  next,  under  the  Duke  of 
Clarence,  was  posted  over  against  the  Caux  Gate  ; 
the  third,  under  the  Duke  of  Exeter,  was  opposite 
the  Beauvais  Gate  ;  the  Earl  Marshal  besieged  the 
Castle  Gate,  the  Earl  of  Warwick  the  Martinville 
Gate.  All  these  were  of  course  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Seine.  Finally,  the  Earl  of  Salisbury  was  given 
the  task  of  besieging  the  outlying  fortification  of 
Rouen,  the  strongly  fortified  abbey  of  St.  Catherine 
which  stood  on  a  hill.-  Dry  trenches  were  dug, 
along  which  men  could  walk  securely  from  one  division 
to  another.^ 

But  the  left  bank  of  the  Seine  had  also  to  be 
guarded,  especially  the  fort  at  the  end  of  the  bridge. 
This  task  was  given  to  the  Earl  of  Huntingdon.^ 
Thus  only  the  River  Seine  itself  remained  to  be  dealt 
with.  For  this  purpose  Henry  had  collected  a  number 
of  boats  which,  full  of  soldiers,  patrolled  the  river 

^  See  Dispatch  of  king  Henry  in  Proc.  of  the  Privy  Council,  II, 
351  :    "  no  man  of  estate  and  right  few  gentlemen." 
-  "Ehnham,"  op.  cit.,  180. 
^  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  241. 
*  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  181. 


i4i8]       THE  CONQUEST  OF  NORMANDY       207 

both  above  and  below  the  town.  Many  sharp  con- 
flicts took  place  between  these  and  the  Rouen 
flotilla  which  frequently  issued  from  the  town.^ 

But  there  was  one  weak  spot  in  Henry's  system. 
The  Seine  divided  his  forces,  so  that  the  Earl  of 
Huntingdon,  on  the  left  bank,  might  be  taken  in 
isolation  by  a  relieving  army,  and  crushed.  To 
obviate  this,  Henry  "  to  whom  nothing  appeared 
difficult,"  2  caused  a  bridge  of  wood  to  be  built, 
broad  and  supported  on  strong  wooden  columns,  so 
that  man  and  horse  could  safely  cross.  This  bridge, 
as  it  had  to  span  a  broad  and  tidal  river,  was  con- 
sidered a  great  achievement.  It  was  situated  above 
Rouen  ;  and  in  order  that  the  townspeople  might 
not  row  out  and  break  it  up,  Henry  caused  great 
heavy  chains  to  be  stretched  from  bank  to  bank, 
both  over  and  just  below  the  surface  of  the  water.  ^ 
He  also  had  some  ships  brought  up  the  river  specially 
to  guard  the  bridge.  As  these  could  not  pass  up 
from  below  Rouen  (owing  to  the  town-bridge  which 
the  garrison  held),  Henry  had  his  ships  drawn  up 
on  to  the  bank,  and  dragged  over  the  fields  to  a 
point  above  the  city,  and  there  launched.^  Finally, 
the  estuary  of  the  Seine  was  watched  by  a  fleet  from 
Henry's  ally,  the  king  of  Portugal,  so  that  convoys 
could  freely  arrive  from  England,  and  no  French 
ships   could   force   their   way   up   the   river.      King 

'  Ibid.  -  Ibid.,  182. 

'  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  2'41. 
*  "Ehnham,"  op.  cit.,  182 


208  HENRY  V  [1418 

Henry  had  no  intention  of  letting  his  forces  depend 
for  sustenance  on  the  vicious  system  of  Hving  on  the 
country.  Food  in  abundance  was  brought  by  a  great 
fleet  from  England  ;  the  citizens  of  London  especially 
earned  the  king's  gratitude  by  sending  generous 
supplies  of  wine  and  beer.^ 

The  siege  lasted  nearly  six  months,  but  was  devoid 
of  excitement.  Although  the  garrison  made  frequent 
sallies,  these  were  never  very  dangerous.  The  con- 
dition of  the  national  government  prevented  any 
determined  effort  at  relief.  The  citizens  of  Rouen 
belonged  to  the  Burgundian  party.  But  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy  at  Paris  did  nothing  to  help  the  besieged 
towns,  although  he  levied  war-taxes. ^  The  siege 
was  practically  a  blockade.  On  1  September,  the 
abbey  of  St.  Catherine  capitulated.  In  the  same 
month  Caudebec,  on  the  right  bank  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Seine,  agreed  to  capitulate,  if  and  when  Rouen 
did  so.^  The  Duke  of  Gloucester  joined  the  king's 
forces,  after  having  successfully  concluded  a  ten- 
months'  siege  of  Cherbourg. 

The  besieged  soon  began  to  find  supplies  of  food 
running  short ;  so  to  lessen  the  number  to  be  fed, 
many  of  the  unwarlike  part  of  the  population  were 
ejected  from  the  gates.  This  happened  shortly 
before  Christmas.^  But  king  Henry  would  not 
acquiesce   in   this   advantage   to   the   besieged,    and 

1  Ibid.,  182-3. 

^  Du  Fresne  de  Beaucourt,  Histoire  de  Charles  VII,  I,  38. 

^  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  190. 

■•  Memorials  of  Henry  V  (Rolls  Series),  53. 


i4i8]       THE  CONQUEST  OF  NORMANDY        209 

refused  to  let  the  ejected  people  pass  beyond  the 
ditches  of  the  town.  ^  Yet  although  sternly  refusing  to 
let  the  ejected  depart,  he  allowed  his  own  men  if 
they  pleased  to  give  them  food,  and  himself  provided 
them  with  occasional  meals.  ^  This  was  all  Henry 
would  do.  For  the  rest,  the  besieged  had  to  look 
after  their  own  population.  On  Christmas  Day  the 
king  gave  them  all  dinner.^  Their  sufferings  must 
have  been  great.  Outside  the  wall,  women  some- 
times gave  birth  to  children.  Although  the  besieged 
would  not  admit  the  ejected  people  back,  they  drew 
up  the  newly  born  children  in  a  basket,  and  had 
them  baptised  ;  then  the  babies  were  delivered  back 
to  their  mothers.^ 

Meanwhile  John  of  Burgundy  had  promised  to 
bring  an  army  to  relieve  the  city.  So  Henry  put  his 
army  upon  digging  more  works,  this  time  to  prevent 
attacks  from  without.  All  the  possible  approaches 
from  the  country  without  were  ditched  and  defended. 
A  flat  field,  where  attacking  artillery  might  operate 
easily,  was  cut  across  by  a  specially  large  ditch,  with 
a  steep  mound  made  of  the  heaped-up  earth.  Inside 
the  king's  lines,  at  a  moderate  distance  from  the 
besieged  city,  another  ditch  was  dug  right  round  the 
three  sides  of  Rouen,  so  deep  that  no  horseman  from 
the  city  could  get  across  for  night  attacks.^    The  fall 

'  The  number  is  estimated  at  12,000.  Lavisse,  Hist,  de  France, 
IV,  380. 

-  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  192  ;   Memorials  of  Henry  V,  53. 

3  Holinshed,  op.  cit.,  566.  *  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  248. 

^  "Elmham,"  op.  cit,,  193-5. 


210  HENRY  V  [1418-19 

of  the  city,  especially  as  the  rumoured  relief  of  Duke 
John  came  to  nothing,  was  now  only  a  question  of 
time.  By  the  end  of  the  year,  it  appears  that  corn 
and  wine  had  given  out ;  the  carefully  saved  horses 
had  been  mostly  consumed,  even  mice  and  rats 
fetched  a  high  price.  ^ 

Accordingly,  early  in  January,  1419,  a  deputa- 
tion of  the  most  responsible  citizens  obtained  a  safe- 
conduct  to  visit  king  Henry.  He  received  them  with 
his  habitual  dignity,  giving  no  sign  in  his  coun- 
tenance either  of  anger  with  them  or  of  relief  at  their 
offer.  They  asked  for  terms.  The  king  quietly 
replied  that  with  them  lay  the  responsibility  for  the 
miseries  caused  by  the  siege  to  the  poor.  If  the  city 
had  acknowledged  him  at  first,  he  would  have  shown 
it  every  favour.  Now  he  would  only  receive  an  un- 
conditional submission. 

Hitherto  Henry  had  always  granted  terms  to  the 
besieged.  But  now  his  position  was  stronger  ;  he 
was  acting  as  rightful  Duke  of  Normandy,  and 
regarded  any  one  who  opposed  him  as  no  better  than 
a  rebel.  The  deputation  returned  to  the  city  to 
consult  their  colleagues.  The  citizens  and  garrison 
agreed  that  it  would  be  better  to  die  fighting  than  to 
submit  unconditionally.  So  they  resolved  to  sally 
out  at  night  after  setting  fire  to  the  city,  and  to  stake 
their  lives  on  an  attempt  to  break  through  the 
English  lines.  News  of  this  design  reached  Henry 
from  the  city  ;   and  as  he  would  rather  have  Rouen 

1  Ibid. 


I4I9]       THE  CONQUEST  OF  NORMANDY        211 

in  good  condition  than  in  aslies,  he  allowed  Arch- 
bishop Chichele  of  Canterbury,  who  was  with  him 
in  the  army,  to  signify  to  the  citizens  that  he  would 
grant  terms.  The  treaty  was  accordingly  drawn  up 
and  signed  on  13  January.  ^ 

The  terms  were  that  the  city  and  castle  should  be 
given  up  to  him  on  19  January.  The  citizens  were 
to  pay  an  indemnity  of  300,000  crowns.  ^  All  arms 
and  accoutrements  of  war  were  to  be  given  up  to  the 
king  ;  the  garrison,  with  leave  to  retire,  was  to  swear 
not  to  bear  arms  against  Henry  for  a  year.  The  king 
was  to  have  ground  for  building  a  palace,  but  he 
bound  himself  to  compensate  any  citizen  for  loss 
occasioned  thereby.  During  the  time  between  the 
capitulation  and  the  actual  giving  up  of  the  city, 
the  citizens  were  to  take  back  the  ejected  poor  people 
who  were  living  about  the  ditches,  and  were  to  see  to 
their  proper  feeding.  All  citizens,  of  either  sex,  who 
should  choose  to  swear  allegiance  to  king  Henry, 
could  keep  their  goods  and  property.  Eight  persons 
by  name  were  exempted  from  the  amnesty,  of  whom 
one,  Robert  de  Lynet,  the  archiepiscopal  vicar- 
general,  died  in  prison,  and  a  second,  Alan  Blanchard, 
the  captain  of  the  burgess  militia,  was  hanged. 

Before  the  army  entered  the  city  on  19  January, 
Henry  sent  in  advance  an  adequate  and  trustworthy 
guard,  to  prevent  any  chance  of  plundering  by  the 

1  Monstrelet,  La  Chronique,  ccii.  ;  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  664-7. 
-  Calculated  by  Ramsay,  Lancaster  and  York,  I,  266,  to  be  equal 
to  £50,000. 


212  HENRY  V  [1419 

soldiers.^  The  citizens  were  not  expelled,  and  all 
the  privileges  granted  by  Henry's  ancestors  to  the 
city  were  confirmed.  Guy  le  Bouteiller,  the  com- 
mander of  the  garrison,  a  Norman  by  birth,  took  the 
oath  of  allegiance,  and  entered  Henry's  service.^  He 
is  the  first  Norman  gentleman  who  is  mentioned  by 
name  as  doing  so.  ^ 

Henry  remained  at  Rouen  till  21  March,  engaged 
in  building  his  palace,  and  in  organising  a  civil 
administration  for  Normandy,  and  in  sending  out 
flying  columns  to  take  in  the  small  neighbouring 
towns  which  still  held  out.  Caudebec  surrendered  as 
agreed,  on  23  January,  Tancarville  on  the  same  day, 
Lillebonne  on  3  February,  Honfleur  on  5  March. 
Thus  all  the  lower  Seine  was  in  English  hands.  To 
the  north-west  of  Normandy,  Dieppe  and  Eu  capitu- 
lated in  February ;  while  Vernon  and  Etrepagny  in 
the  country  about  the  upper  Seine,  towards  Paris,  also 
capitulated.^  Henry  went  from  Rouen  to  Evreux  at 
the  end  of  March,  and  remained  there  till  3  April, 
From  thence  he  removed  to  Vernon-sur-Seine,  where 
he  dated  an  Act  on  7  April.  He  remained  there  till 
26  May.  This  was  on  the  very  border  of  Normandy. 
From  there  he  set  out  to  invade  the  Isle  of  France. 
His  next  Act  was  dated  from  Mantes,  on  28  May.^ 

^   "  Elniham,"  op.  cit.,  197-200,  for  an  account  of  the  capitulation. 

2  Ibid.,  203. 

'  But  Lavisse,  Hist,  de  France,  IV,  375,  agrees  that  in  all  a  fair 
number  of  Norman  nobles  and  gentry  accepted  the  English 
domination. 

*  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  204-6  ;  Rymer,  Foedcra,  IX,  674  ff. 

5  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  717,  722-56,  757. 


\v.iv^;,«  <t.  Jy»- ^.■^t*  -A,v»v(A-,,A' 


T    t 


1 1:! 


'■ '-^ 


i 


m  ' 


Mr;4-^).^  -  -jf 


^^  ./.f.,    'f^V- 


.:i." 


■■V.  \>' 


/  // 


v 


HOW  EARL  RICHARD  WAS  AT  THE  SIEGE  OF   ROUEN 
Warwick  Pageant.     Brit.  Mus.,  Cottoiiian  MS.,  Julius  E.  IV 


I4I9]       THE  CONQUEST  OF  NORMANDY        213 

The  historic  fortress  of  Chateau  Gaillard  in  his  rear 
was  still  untaken.  It  was  blockaded  by  the  Duke  of 
Exeter,  but  did  not  capitulate  till  23  September. 
This  completed  the  conquest  of  Normandy,  with  the 
exception  of  Mont  St.  Michel,  which  though  blockaded 
more  or  less  severely  for  the  next  twenty  years  was 
never  taken. 


CHAPTER    XI 

THE  TREATY  OF  TROYES 

After  the  capture  of  Rouen,  there  was  httle  severe 
fighting,  yet  there  was  no  peace,  until  the  Treaty  of 
Troyes  was  concluded  on  21  May,  1420.  Even  this 
did  not  bring  peace  to  king  Henry,  although  it 
brought  a  kind  of  legal  consummation  to  his 
ambition. 

During  this  intervening  period,  the  condition  of 
France  was  terrible.  The  party  of  John,  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  held  the  king  Charles  VI,  and  dominated 
the  Isle  of  France,  as  well  as  most  of  the  east,  where 
the  dominions  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  were  situated, 
and  also  a  considerable  number  of  towns  in  the  south.  ^ 
The  Dauphin,  on  the  other  hand,  although  a  youth 
of  just  sixteen  years,  had  a  considerable  party  south 
of  the  Loire,  especially  between  Bourges  and  Tours. 
At  Bourges,  where  he  made  his  head-quarters,  he 
was  surrounded  by  a  body  of  capable  and  patriotic 
men,  chief  of  whom  was  the  ex-provost  of  Paris, 
Tanneguy  du  Chastel,  a  Breton  of  great  force  of 
character,  and  unswerving  loyalty  to  his  young 
master.      Already    in    this    band    of    councillors    in 

^  Du  Fresne  de  Beaiicourt,  Hiat.  de  Charles  VII,  I,  45-7. 
214 


I4I9]  THE  TREATY  OF  TROYES  215 

adversity,  appear  names  which  became  famous  in 
the  later  stages  of  the  Hundred  Years'  War,  when 
the  French  were  driving  the  EngHsh  out  of  France. 
Such  men  as  the  captains  La  Hire  and  Pothon  de 
Saintrailles,  were  already  making  their  mark.  Amid 
the  shipwreck  of  all  the  fortunes  of  France,  when 
the  reigning  king  was  being  treated  as  a  kind  of 
shuttlecock  between  the  Burgundians  and  the 
English,  the  tradition  of  royalty  still  offered  a  firm 
basis  for  resistance.  Around  the  young  Dauphin 
what  was  left  of  the  national  forces  could  rally.  He 
was  not  then — nor  was  he  ever  afterwards — dis- 
tinguished for  extraordinary  virtues  ;  but  he  had 
prudence  and  he  had  persistence  ;  he  had,  moreover, 
qualities  which  are  the  prerogatives  of  royal  birth  : 
to  be  afraid  of  no  responsibility,  and  to  be  unmoved 
by  the  overwhelming  burden  of  cares  that  fell  to  his 
lot.  In  the  disruption  of  society,  the  element  of 
constancy  is  most  valuable  in  a  man.  This  element 
was  given  by  the  tradition  of  royalty  as  represented 
by  the  Dauphin  Charles.  The  leadership  of  the 
national  forces  fell  to  him  by  his  birth.  He  accepted 
the  leadership  quite  naturally.  At  first  he  had  only 
a  few  determined  vigorous  people  around  him.  But 
ultimately  he  was  bound  to  gather  to  him  all  French- 
men. 

King  Henry  was  a  different  man  from  the  Dauphin 
Charles.  He  had  more  vigour,  a  far  more  active 
mind,  and  more  fervid  genius.  Contrasted  with  the 
sombre  youth  of  the  Dauphin,  the  short  life  of  Henry  V 


216  HENRY  V  [1419 

is  brilliant  in  the  extreme.  His  aehievements  in 
these  short  years  are  infinitely  more  striking.  Yet 
Henry's  work,  if  it  did  not  die  with  him,  only  lasted 
a  few  years  more,  owing  to  the  personality  of  one 
man,  his  brother  John,  Duke  of  Bedford.  The  Dau- 
phin lived  on  to  see  not  merely  the  expulsion  of 
the  English  from  France,  but  the  downfall  of  the 
Lancastrian  dynasty  in  England.  But  throughout 
the  life  of  Henry  V,  the  Dauphin  experienced  little 
except  misfortune. 

During  the  siege  of  Rouen,  king  Henry  was 
engaged  in  diplomatic  negotiations  both  with  the 
Burgundians  and  the  Dauphinists  (as  the  Armagnac 
party  was  now  called,  since  the  murder  of  Constable 
Bernard  of  Armagnac).  The  Duke  of  Brittany, 
whose  mother,  the  Duchess  Joan,  had  been  the  second 
wife  of  Henry  IV,  acted  as  mediator.  But  the 
negotiations  had  no  effect,  except  in  so  far  as  they 
gave  king  Henry  time  quietly  to  push  forward  his 
conquests.  Henry,  however,  was  not  insincere  in 
proposing  peace,  but  he  would  only  make  peace 
on  terms,  and  those  were  terms  which  his  oppo- 
nents would  not  grant.  He  never  pretended  that 
he  would  accept  peace  on  anything  less  than  the 
terms  of  the  "Great  Peace"  (Treaty  of  Bretigny, 
1360) — the  cession  of  all  the  lands  which  Edward 
III  had  conquered  with  the  addition  of  Normandy 
which  Henry  had  already  conquered.^  It  is  true 
that  he  carried  on  practically  simultaneous  negotia- 

1  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  628,  630. 


I4I8-I9]         THE  TREATY  OF  TROYES  217 

tions  with  both  Burgundians  and  Dauphinists. 
Yet  no  objection  can  be  taken  to  this,  for  in 
1418-19  he  was  at  war  with  both,  and  therefore 
was  right  in  trying  to  get  the  best  terms  he  could 
from  either  party.  But  king  Henry  was  very 
careful  not  to  act  deceitfully.  He  definitely  promised 
in  the  event  of  one  party  making  peace  with  him, 
that  he  would  not  thereafter  enter  into  negotiations 
for  fresh  or  better  terms  with  the  other  party.  ^ 

Up  to  the  Treaty  of  Troyes  all  the  proposals 
were  of  the  same  kind,  and  were  equally  without 
result.  On  26  October,  1418,  during  the  siege  of 
Rouen,  king  Henry  appointed  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  and  other  commissioners  to  treat  with 
the  Dauphin,  "  so-called  regent,"  with  regard  to 
peace.  In  his  instructions  Henry  showed  that  he 
was  willing  to  give  up  his  claim  to  the  crown  of 
France,  but  in  return  he  demanded,  "  the  sovereignty 
and  lordship  of  Touraine,  Anjou  and  Maine,"  and 
"  the  country  and  Earldom  of  Flanders."  Flanders 
would  be  held  as  a  fief  of  the  French  crown,  but 
the  rest  Henry  was  to  hold  in  full  sovereignty. 
Normandy  he  considered  as  already  his,  and  there- 
fore he  would  not  hear  of  the  Dauphin  proffering 
that  "  or  any  other  thing  that  the  king  hath  now 
in  his  hands."  If  the  Dauphin  would  accept  these 
terms,  Henry  was  willing  to  join  forces  with  him, 
to  subdue  the  party  of  Burgundy,  and  to  bring 
internal  peace  to  France.     Finally,  the  question  of  a 

1  Ibid.,  G46,  763-4. 


218  HENRY  V  [1418 

marriage  between  Henry  and  the  princess  Katherine, 
sister  of  the  Dauphin,  was  to  be  taken  in  hand.^ 

It  must  be  remembered  that  at  the  time  when 
king  Henry  made  these  offers  he  was  at  war  with  the 
Dauphin's  enemy,  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  The  town 
of  Rouen  which  Henry  was  besieging  was  Burgundian, 
and  Guy  le  Bouteiller,  commander  of  the  garrison, 
was  specially  appointed  and  sent  by  Duke  John. 
So  it  was  not  Henry  who  broke  the  treaty  of  neutrality 
between  himself  and  the  Burgundians.  Rather  it 
was  Duke  John  who  had  put  himself  into  an  im- 
possible position,  first  in  allying  himself  with  the 
enemy  of  France,  and  then  making  himself  head  of 
the  central  French  government. 

Accordingly,  while  negotiating  with  one  of  his 
enemies,  the  Dauphin,  Henry  also  negotiated  with 
the  other,  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  It  was  the  mis- 
fortune of  France  that  she  had  now  two  govern- 
ments ;  Henry  negotiated  with  both,  and  it  cannot 
have  been  a  secret  to  either  party  that  he  was 
doing  so. 

The  representatives  of  Henry  V  and  of  the  Dauphin 
met  on  16  November,  1418,  at  Alen9on.  The  offers 
made  on  the  part  of  the  Dauphin  were  clearly  such 
as  Henry  could  not  accept,  without  giving  up  a 
great  part  of  what  he  had  fought  for.  The  Dauphin 
offered  to  cede  some  important  castles  and  lands  in 
the  south-west,  also  "  Normandy  beyond  the  Seine, 
except  Rouen  and  its  viscounty."  ^    The  lands  ceded 

1  Ibid.,  IX,  626-31.  «  Ibid.,  IX,  632-7. 


I4I8-I9]         THE  TREATY  OF  TROYES  219 

were  not  to  be  given  in  full  sovereignty,  but  only  in 
fief.  Naturally  these  offers  failed  to  bring  peace. 
It  was  doubtful  whether  England  could  really  expect 
to  hold  French  provinces  perpetually ;  but  one 
thing  is  certain,  it  was  not  worth  while  trying  to  hold 
them  on  terms  of  feudal  allegiance  to  the  French 
king.  The  history  of  the  "  Angevin  Empire  "  is  one 
long  example  of  the  dangers  in  which  England  was 
involved  by  her  king  being  also  a  vassal  to  the  king 
of  France.  In  the  negotiations  with  the  Dauphin, 
Henry's  ambassadors  rightly  maintained  that  what- 
ever lands  their  master  might  receive  in  France,  he 
would  have  no  superior  in  them  but  God.^ 

Negotiations  with  the  Dauphin  having  failed, 
king  Henry,  from  his  camp  before  Rouen,  on 
1  December,  1418,  commissioned  ambassadors  to 
treat  with  Charles  VI,  or  rather  with  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  in  whose  power  Charles  VI  then  was. 
Next  month  (1  January,  1419)  he  granted  safe- 
conducts  for  the  Dauphin's  envoys  to  come  to 
Louviers.  On  12  February,  1419,  king  Henry  went 
so  far  as  to  empower  his  representatives  to  arrange 
a  personal  meeting  with  the  Dauphin.  For  this 
purpose  a  truce  was  agreed  to  by  Henry  on  16  Feb- 
ruary. All  this  time  negotiations  for  peace  were 
going  on  with  Charles  VI  and  the  Duke  of  Burgundy. 
On  17  April,  1419,  negotiations  were  taken  in  hand 
at  Vernon  for  a  personal  interview  between  Henry 
and  Charles  VI,  or  failing  him,  between  Henry  on  the 

1  Ibid.,  639. 


220  HENRY  V  [1419 

one  hand,  and  the  Queen  of  France,  Isabella,  her 
daughter,  the  Lady  Katherine,  and  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy  on  the  other.  The  peace-making  Duke  of 
Brittany  was  also  to  be  present.  Of  the  meetings 
proposed,— one  with  the  Dauphin,  the  other  with 
Burgundy, — only  the  second  actually  took  place. 
For  the  purposes  of  this  interview  a  truce  was 
arranged  to  last  till  15  May.  If  necessary,  of  course, 
the  truce  could  be  extended.^ 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  personal  colloquies  did  not 
begin  till  29  May.  The  place  agreed  upon  was  the 
"  Champ  de  la  Chat  "  between  the  towns  of  Meulan 
and  Mezy.  In  this  meadow  by  the  Seine,  tents  were 
set  up,  and  a  regular  camp  with  police  to  keep  order 
was  established,  according  to  a  convention  drawn 
up  between  the  two  parties.  The  field  was  practically 
an  island,  having  the  Seine  on  one  side  and  a  lake  on 
the  other.  It  was  equally  divided,  the  French  keeping 
to  one  part,  the  English  to  the  other.  Each  side 
swore  that  no  treachery  would  be  attempted.  The 
whole  field  was  marked  off  by  ditch  and  palisade. 
The  two  parties  passed  the  day  in  tents  on  the  field, 
but  the  attendants  lodged  outside  the  barricade. 
Each  side  brought  one  thousand  armed  men.  These 
also  remained  outside  the  barricade.  Seventy-six 
men  on  either  side,  exclusive  of  the  principals,  were 
allowed  within  the  enclosure.  ^ 


1  Ibid.,  654,  GG2,  686,  696-8,  709,  719. 

*  Ibid.,     759  ;      Monstrelet,     La     Chronique,     ccvii.  ;     Ramsay, 
Lancaster  and  York,  I,  270,  note  4. 


I4I9]  THE  TREATY  OF  TROYES  221 

The  conferences  took  place  at  intervals  throughout 
the  month  of  June.  Henry's  demands  were  simple, 
though  not  such  as  the  French  at  this  time  were 
likely  to  concede.  He  demanded  all  that  was  con- 
tained in  the  Great  Peace  of  Bretigny  (Aquitaine 
and  Ponthieu),  together  with  the  Duchy  of  Normandy, 
all  in  full  sovereignty.  This  amounted  to  very  much 
less  than  Charles  VI  and  the  Burgundians  conceded 
next  year  at  Troyes.  But  at  this  time  the  fortunes 
of  France  were  not  really  low,  for  the  breach  between 
Burgundians  and  Dauphinists  was  only  a  small  one. 
Henry  also  requested  what  he  had  so  often  asked  for 
before,  the  hand  of  the  Lady  Katherine  in  marriage. 

Charles  VI,  as  was  expected,  was  unable  to  attend. 
The  French  government  was  therefore  represented 
on  29  May,  by  the  queen  Isabella,  the  Lady  Katherine 
and  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  The  two  parties  entered 
the  field  from  opposite  ends  at  the  same  moment. 
Henry  with  his  brothers,  Thomas  and  Humphrey, 
and  attended  by  his  council,  met  the  French  deputa- 
tion in  the  centre.  The  king  respectfully  bowed  to 
the  queen,  and  then  kissed  her.  He  also  kissed  the 
Lady  Katherine  who  received  the  salute  with  blush- 
ing, and  much  maidenly  agitation.^  She  was  at  this 
time  eighteen  years  old,  beautiful,  tall  and  with  a 
gracious  manner.  ^  The  Duke  of  Burgundy  then 
saluted  the  king,  by  bending  the  knee  a  little,  and 

^  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  222.  He  calls  the  scene  "  pax  a  justicia 
sumens  oscula." 

*  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  ccvii. 


222  HENRY  V  [1419 

inclining  the  head.  But  Henry  took  him  by  the 
hand  and  kissed  him,  and  did  him  great  honour.  Then 
they  entered  the  council-tent,  Henry  leading  the 
queen  Isabella.  They  conversed  inside  for  a  long 
time,  taking  leave  at  last  of  each  other  "  honourably 
and  humbly."  The  king  returned  to  Mantes,  and 
the  French  party  to  Pontoise.  Another  meeting 
took  place  next  day,  and  more  during  the  following 
weeks,  but  in  none  of  these  did  the  Lady  Katherine 
again  appear.^ 

In  reply  to  Henry's  demands  for  Aquitaine, 
Ponthieu  and  Normandy,  the  French  offered  Nor- 
mandy and  lands  in  Aquitaine  of  equal  value  to 
Ponthieu.  In  return  they  asked  him  to  give  up  his 
claim  to  the  French  crown,  and  to  promise  not  to 
try  to  get  better  terms  from  the  Dauphin.  Both  of 
these  demands  Henry  easily  agreed  to.  They  also 
asked  for  parliamentary  confirmation  of  the  treaty 
in  England  (this  Henry  refused),  and  restoration  of 
the  dowry  of  Richard  II's  queen  (this  Henry  agreed 
to,  although  he  disputed  the  amount).  It  is  clear 
that  the  obstacles  to  peace  were  not  really  great. 
Henry  was  anxious  to  finish  the  war  and  to  get  back 
to  England.  He  had  no  intention  of  being  involved 
in  a  lifelong  war  in  France,  like  Edward  III.  He 
agreed  to  give  up  the  claim  to  the  French  crown, 
and  the  lands  he  had  conquered  outside  Normandy. 
He  still  asked  for  Ponthieu   but  he  no  longer  insisted 

^  Ibid.  Conferences  took  place  on  June  1,  5,  13,  16,  26,  30. 
"Elmhani,"  op.  cit.,  223-5. 


1419]  THE  TREATY  OF  TROYES  223 

on  Aquitaine  (he  possessed  Guienne  already.  If 
the  French  had  given  up  Ponthieu  the  question  of 
parHamentary  ratification  might  easily  have  been 
settled.  It  was  well  known  anyhow  that  Henry 
would  keep  his  word.^  Nor  would  the  marriage 
with  Katherine  have  been  difficult  to  settle,  although 
the  negotiations  about  the  dowry  would  have  been 
long  and  tedious.  But  it  is  clear  that  the  French 
would  rather  have  war  than  give  up  any  more  than 
Normandy.  For  at  this  time  (June,  1419),  they  felt 
that  their  fortunes  were  reviving.  The  Dauphin  had 
sent  Tanneguy  du  Chastel  with  offers  of  peace  and 
alliance  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  at  Pontoise.^ 
These  overtures  had  been  successful,  even  while 
the  conferences  with  Henry  were  going  on.  France 
was  to  be  united  again,  and  would  expel  the  invader. 
So  the  conferences  with  Henry  came  to  nothing, 
except  that  the  spark  of  love,  if  any  had  been  pre- 
viously lighted  between  the  king  and  the  most  noble 
Katherine,  was  inflamed  more  abundantly,  from 
their  now  having  seen  each  other.  ^ 

A  final  conference  had  been  arranged  for  3  July, 
and  although  Henry  knew  of  the  negotiations  with 
the  Dauphin,  yet  he  wished  to  keep  the  appoint- 
ment. But  the  French  commissioners  simply  did 
not  appear  at  the  place  of  convention.  * 

^  Cp.  Lavisse,  Histoire  de  France,  t.  IV,  375  ;  "  This  king,  rigid 
and  hard,  but  faithful  to  his  word." 

-  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  ccvii.  ;    "  Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  224. 
»  Ibid.,  225. 
*  Ibid. 


224  HENRY  V  [1419 

The  Duke  of  Burgundy  thought  he  could  expel 
the  English  without  cessions.  The  result  was  un- 
expected. When  next  Henry  entered  into  negotia- 
tions for  peace,  he  would  accept  nothing  less  than 
the  whole  of  France  ;  and  by  this  time  he  could  not 
be  refused. 

The  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  the  French  court  left 
Pontoise  on  7  July,  and  proceeded  to  the  Ponceau- 
Saint-Denis,  three  miles  from  Melun,  where  he  was 
to  meet  the  Dauphin.  On  the  8th  a  personal  inter- 
view took  place,  during  which  the  Duke  and  the 
Dauphin  conversed  alone  in  a  tent  from  about  six 
o'clock  in  the  evening  till  eleven  o'clock,^  On  11  July 
peace  and  alliance  was  signed  with  the  Dauphin,  ^ 
and  on  the  19th  it  was  published  by  an  ordinance  of 
Charles  VI. 

Henry  saw  that  the  time  for  action  had  again 
arrived.  On  30  July  he  publicly  proclaimed  that  the 
truce  was  at  an  cnd.^  The  same  evening  he  sent  out 
a  column  from  Mantes,  under  Gaston  de  Foix, 
"  Captal  of  Buch."  Marching  all  night,  the  Captal 
surprised  Pontoise  in  the  morning,  although  it  had 
a  strong  Burgundian  garrison  under  the  Seigneur  de 
risle  Adam.  Henry  then  advanced  his  army  to 
Pontoise  himself.  He  was  already  threatening 
Paris. 

At  Pontoise  Henry  remained  during  the  first  half 

1  Du  Fresne  de  Beaucourt,  op.  cit.,  I,  43,  44,  143,  44. 

2  Rymer,  Focdcra,  IX,  775-9. 
»  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  227. 


I4I9]  THE  TREATY  OF  TROYES  225 

of  the  month  of  August.  The  Duke  of  Clarence  led  a 
body  of  troops  in  front  of  Paris,  and  remained  in 
that  neighbourhood  for  two  or  three  days,  expecting 
to  have  a  fight  with  forces  from  the  city.  But 
nothing  happened.  Armed  brigandage  was  common 
in  the  Isle  of  France  at  this  time,  but  king  Henry's 
strong  arm  reached  out  on  every  side,  and  did  much 
to  put  it  down.  He  left  Pontoise  on  18  August,  and 
won  some  small  towns  ;  at  the  end  of  August  he 
instituted  a  strict  blockade  of  Gisors,  a  town  and 
great  castle  of  the  Vexin.  The  town  yielded  on 
17  September,  the  castle  on  the  23rd.  Gisors  was 
one  of  the  most  important  points  for  defending 
Normandy  against  the  Isle  of  France.  Henry 
planned  a  great  addition  to  the  fortifications  of  the 
town,  but  he  did  not  live  to  carry  out  the  work.^ 

Meanwhile  matters  were  not  going  smoothly 
between  the  Dauphin  and  the  Duke  of  Burgundy. 
Duke  John  made  no  efforts  to  stop  the  steady  course 
of  conquest  which  Henry  had  recommenced  on  the 
news  of  the  treaty  made  between  the  Dauphinists 
and  the  Burgundians.  The  Duke  did  nothing  to 
safeguard  Paris,  but  kept  himself  at  St.  Denis,  or 
yet  further  off  at  Lagny.  He  even  continued 
negotiations  with  king  Henry,  who  received  them 
tranquilly,  knowing  that  the  Duke's  duplicity  was 
only  advancing  the  English  cause.  In  August  the 
Duke  moved  on  to  the  county  of  Champagne,  where 
the  towns  were  in  the  hands  of  his  captains.  He  still 
1  Ibid.,  231-5. 
Q 


226  HENRY  V  [1419 

did  nothing  to  join  the  Dauphin,  as  he  had  agreed 
to  do,  in  an  offensive  movement.  But  he  began 
massing  troops  at  Provins  and  at  Troyes.  The  Duke 
and  Dauphin  were  to  have  another  interview,  to 
arrange  for  the  settlement  of  the  government  and 
the  defence  of  France.  The  place  assigned  for  the 
interview  was  Montereau,  a  small  town  and  castle 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Seine,  near  its  junction  with 
the  Yonne.  There  the  Dauphin  arrived  punctually 
as  he  had  promised,  on  24  August.  But  Duke  John 
held  back  at  Troyes,  where  his  scattered  forces  were 
now  gathering.  He  at  last  left  Troyes  on  28  August, 
and  advanced  to  Bray,  fifteen  miles  from  Montereau. 
There  the  Dauphin's  counsellors  came  to  urge  him  to 
attend  the  interview.  At  length,  on  Sunday,  10 
September,  the  Duke  with  three  thousand  men, 
advanced  to  Montereau.  The  castle  was  delivered 
up  to  him  as  a  surety.  This  was  about  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon.  At  five  o'clock  the  Duke  went  to 
the  bridge  (over  the  Seine)  on  which  the  interview 
was  to  take  place.  There  was  a  barricade  at  either 
end  of  the  bridge,  and  near  the  centre  was  another 
enclosure.  The  Duke  coming  from  the  right  bank 
passed  the  first  barricade  and  entered  the  enclosure 
by  the  wicket.  The  Dauphin  was  waiting  for  him. 
Both  duke  and  prince  were  attended  by  ten  of  their 
councillors.  All  wore  swords.  The  Duke  bent  one 
knee  to  the  ground  and  humbly  greeted  the  Dauphin. 
After  a  few  words  the  Duke  seems  to  have  stood 
erect    and    the    two    continued    their    conversation. 


I4I9]  THE  TREATY  OF  TROYES  227 

The  talk  took  a  less  friendly  turn  as  the  young 
Dauphin  began  to  reproach  the  Duke  with  having 
made  overtures  to  king  Henry.  He  pressed  John  to 
make  a  definite  decision  to  join  forces  to  resist  the 
English.  The  Duke  requested  the  Dauphin  to  come 
and  have  the  matter  settled  in  the  presence  of  king 
Charles.  The  Dauphin  replied  truly  that  he  was 
better  at  Montereau  than  at  the  court  of  his  father. 
One  of  the  Duke's  men,  the  Seigneur  de  Navailles, 
then  laid  his  left  hand  on  the  Dauphin's  shoulder, 
and  said,  "  You  will  come  to  your  father,"  at  the 
same  time  half  drawing  his  sword.  The  Duke  seems 
also  in  his  excitement  or  nervousness  to  have  touched 
his  sword.  He  was  immediately  cut  down  by  Tanne- 
guy  du  Chastel  and  the  Dauphin's  gentlemen.  The 
Dauphin  himself  was  hurried  out  of  the  enclosure  as 
his  men-at-arms  rushed  in  to  deal  with  the  alarm. 

Such  was  the  famous  murder  on  the  bridge  of 
Montereau,  which,  as  a  result,  laid  the  greater  part 
of  France  at  the  feet  of  the  English,  and  produced 
thirty-five  more  years  of  war.  There  is  no  evidence 
that  the  murder  was  premeditated,  nor  that  the 
Dauphin  had  anything  directly  to  do  with  it.  He 
was  then  sixteen  and  a  half  years  old.  ^ 

The  murder  at  Montereau  produced  the  Treaty  of 
Troyes,  which  was  the  highest  point  reached  by 
English  power  in  the  Middle  Ages.  There  was  no 
longer  any  chance  of  union  between  the  Dauphinists 

^  A  complete  and  detailed  account,  with  all  the  sources  compai'od, 
is  given  by  G.  Du  Fresne  de  lieaucourt,  op.  cit.,  1,  l-±4-72. 


228  HENRY  V  [.419-20 

and  the  Burgundians.  The  young  Duke  Philip,  son 
of  John  the  Fearless,  had  hitherto  supported  the 
national  cause  against  the  English.  His  great  regret 
was  that  owing  to  the  ambiguous  conduct  of  his 
father,  he  had  not  been  present  at  the  battle  of 
Agincourt.  But  the  murder  at  Montereau  changed 
his  attitude.  Disgust  and  hatred  fdled  his  mind 
towards  the  Dauphinists,  and  to  revenge  his  father's 
death  he  became  willing  to  join  forces  with  Henry  V. 
Henry  remained  at  Gisors  till  7  October  ;  on  the 
9th  he  was  back  at  Mantes.  Here  he  conducted 
negotiations  with  the  new  Duke  of  Burgundy.  The 
diplomacy  of  king  Henry  had  now  a  great  oppor- 
tunity since  the  murder  at  Montereau.  At  the 
end  of  November  he  returned  from  Mantes  to 
Rouen,  where  he  remained  till  18  April,  1420.^  He 
had  already  sent  to  Philip  of  Burgundy  who  acted 
for  king  Charles  VI,  proposals  practically  identical 
with  those  finally  concluded  at  Troyes,  six  months 
later,  namely,  that  Henry  should  marry  the  Lady 
Katherine,  should  be  regent  of  France,  during  the 
lifetime  of  Charles  VI,  and  should  succeed  to  the 
French  throne  at  the  death  of  that  monarch.  Duke 
Philip  "  considering  the  innumerable  and  enormous 
evils  which  have  hitherto  ensued  from  the  wars,  .  .  . 
and  which  in  all  probability  will  continue  to  ensue  in 
the  future,"  formally  gave  his  approval  to  these  pro- 
posals. ^    This  was  on  2  December.    The  conquest  of 

1  Rymer,  Foedcra,  IX,  802,  803,  810  ff.,  825,  888. 

2  Ibid.,  IX,  810-18. 


I4I9-20]         THE  TREATY  OF  TROYES  229 

France  seemed  suddenly  to  have  become  a  simple 
matter  for  king  Henry.  On  24  December  a  truce 
was  arranged  with  Charles  VI  and  Duke  Philip,  but 
excluding  all  places  obedient  to  the  Dauphin,  to  last 
till  the  first  of  March,  1420.  ^ 

The  sweeping  proposals  of  Henry  —  infinitely 
more  than  he  had  ever  demanded  before  in 
treaty-negotiations — had  thus  been  approved  by 
Philip  of  Burgundy,  who  held  the  king  Charles  VI. 
The  only  real  condition  exacted  from  Henry  V  was 
that  he  should  assist  the  Duke  in  his  war  of  revenge 
against  the  Dauphin, — which  condition  really  meant 
that  the  Duke  would  lend  all  his  power  to  England, 
to  drive  Henry's  last  enemy  out  of  France.  Never- 
theless time  was  required  for  such  a  tremendous 
revolution  as  that  involved  in  the  proposed  treaty. 
Meanwhile  king  Henry,  who  knew  it  was  best  not  to 
press  matters  too  quickly,  remained  quietly  at 
Rouen,  letting  both  Normandy  and  the  Isle  of 
France  realise  the  blessings  of  peace.  Commerce  was 
allowed  to  come  and  go  in  the  dominions  of  Charles 
VI.  Henry  exchanged  cordial  messages  with  the 
city  of  Paris,  and  promised  to  maintain  all  its 
privileges  when  he  "  came  to  hold  the  rule  of  the 
kingdom  of  France."  ^  The  administration  of  Nor- 
mandy took  up  much  of  his  time.  Owing  to  the  fact 
that  many  of  the  higher  clergy  had  left  the  Duchy, 
rather  than  recognise  Henry's  rule,  ecclesiastical 
affairs  required  to  be  reorganised.    Accordingly  these 

1  Ibid.,  822.  2  n^i^^  ^54^  ^55^ 


230  HENRY  V  [1420 

months  at  Rouen  are  full  of  charters  and  royal 
letters  directed  to  monastic  houses,  cathedral  chapters, 
hospitals.  The  lower  clergy  do  not  seem  to  have 
occasioned  any  trouble.  Then  the  Norman  towns 
required  attention,  their  privileges  had  to  be  inquired 
into  and  confirmed,  the  regulations  of  the  Norman 
mint  drawn  up,  and  the  debased  French  coinage 
superseded.  Taxation  was  adjusted  and  the  king's 
peace  enforced.^  At  the  same  time  the  districts 
north  of  the  Loire  which  still  acknowledged  the 
Dauphin  were  being  invaded  ;  by  the  end  of  February 
all  the  Beauvaisis  and  the  Amienois  had  been  sub- 
dued. ^  The  only  check  received  by  the  English  was 
on  the  sea,  when  in  January  the  Dauphinist  admiral 
de  Bracquemont  with  French  and  Castilian  ships 
defeated  an  English  fleet  off  La  Rochelle.^  But  this 
defeat  had  no  effect  on  Henry's  position. 

On  9  April  Charles  VI  by  royal  letters  formally 
approved  of  Henry's  proposals,  and  agreed  to  wait 
at  Troyes  in  Champagne  for  a  personal  interview 
with  Henry  V,  and  for  the  formal  concluding  of  the 
treaty.  On  23  March  Henry  was  back  in  Mantes, 
and  declared  an  extension  of  the  truce  with  Charles 
VI,  to  last  till  one  or  other  of  the  two  parties  chose 
to  declare  it  ended.  From  28  April  to  8  May,  Henry 
was  at  Pontoise  where  his  forces  assembled.  When 
the  army  advanced  further  into  the  Isle  of  France, 
they  found  that  spring  had  come  and  the  ground  was 

^  Ibid.,  IX,  832-90.  -  Waurin,  Recueil  des  croniques,  284-5. 

*  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  Hist,  de  Charles  VI,  374-5. 


I420]  THE  TREATY  OF  TROYES  231 

all  "  starred  with  bright  flowers."^  Marching  up  the 
right  bank  of  the  Seine,  with,  it  is  said,  fifteen 
thousand  men,  he  reached  St.  Denis  and  then  passed 
by  the  ditches  of  Paris  without  trynig  to  enter  the 
city.  The  populace  came  out  and  watched  curiously 
and  with  approval  the  long  English  columns  filing 
past.  The  Marne  was  crossed  by  the  bridge  at 
Charentan.  On  14  May,  the  army  was  outside 
Provins.  Here  some  delay  occurred.  Gradually, 
however,  the  army  advanced,  crossing  the  Seine 
which  runs  east  in  this  part,  at  Nogent.  On  19  May 
Charles  VI  signed  a  procuration  giving  to  his  queen 
and  to  Duke  Philip  of  Burgundy  full  power  to 
represent  himself,  and  to  conclude  the  terms  of  a 
final  peace.  Next  day,  20  May,  king  Henry,  having 
been  met  outside  by  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  entered 
Troyes.  All  the  terms  of  the  peace  had  been  already 
arranged  by  the  English  ambassadors  who  had  been 
for  over  a  month  with  the  Duke.  There  was  nothing 
left  but  to  sign  the  treaty.  ^ 

On  entering  Troyes  Henry  at  once  visited  the 
afflicted  Charles  VI,  whom  he  found  enjoying  a 
"  lucid  interval."^  The  two  monarchs  conducted 
themselves  so  that  neither  showed  either  superiority 
or  inferiority  of  position.  This  visit  over,  Henry 
went  back  to  the  house  which  had  been  assigned  as 

1  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  249. 

*  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  890,  894  ;  Walsingham,  Hist.  Anijiicana, 
II,  334  ;    "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  250  ;    Waurin,  285-8,  291. 

'  "  Elrnham,"  op.  cit.,  251,  "  beneficium  intervalli  liicidiori.s 
adeptus." 


232  HENRY  V  [1420 

his  quarters.  As  it  was  not  large  enough  to  hold  all 
his  staff,  he  caused  the  walls  of  the  adjacent  houses 
where  they  lodged  to  be  opened  up,  so  as  to  make 
communication  easy  with  the  king's  quarters.  One 
half  of  the  town  was  given  up  to  the  French  court, 
the  other  to  the  English.^  In  order  that  his  men 
should  not  disgrace  themselves  and  cause  disturbance 
by  getting  drunk,  Henry  issued  an  order  that  no 
Englishman  should  take  any  wine  unless  it  was 
watered.  2 

On  the  next  day  the  princes  and  magnates  assembled 
in  the  cathedral  church  of  St.  Peter.  Charles  VI  did 
not  attend.  There  were  present  on  the  English  side 
king  Henry,  his  two  brothers,  the  Duke  of  Clarence, 
and  the  Duke  of  Bedford  (who  had  come  from 
England,  the  third  brother,  Humphrey,  taking  his 
place  as  warden  there). ^  Archbishop  Chichele  of 
Canterbury  was  also  present  in  his  position  of  first 
constitutional  adviser  of  the  crown.  In  all  there 
were  forty  lords  of  Henry's  council  present.  On  the 
French  side  there  were  the  queen  Isabella,  the  Lady 
Katherine,  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  with  the  Chancellor 
of  France  and  others  of  the  Great  Council,  forty  in 
all.  Henry  and  the  queen  Isabella  met  in  the  middle 
of  the  church,  and  together  they  ascended  to  the 
great  altar.  There  the  articles  of  the  treaty  were 
read  out,  and  then  sealed  with  the  seal  both  of  France 

1  But  the  English  soldiers  were  lodged  outside  the  town  in  the 
neighbouring  villages.     Monstrelet,  La  Chronique,  cexxv. 
a  "Elmham."  op.  cit..  251. 
»  Rymer,  Focdcra,  IX,  907. 


1420]  THE  TREATY  OF  TROYES  233 

and  of  England.  After  this  king  Henry  and  the 
Lady  Katherine  joined  hands,  and  phghted  their 
troth.  ^  Oaths  were  taken  by  PhiHp  of  Burgundy 
and  the  French  magnates  to  observe  all  the  articles 
of  the  treaty.  The  burgesses  of  Troyes  were  also 
sworn,  representing  the  third  estate  of  France.^  It 
was  noticed  at  the  ceremony  that  the  English  nobles 
made  a  much  more  splendid  appearance  than  those 
of  France.  The  French  marvelled  where  such  clothes 
and  valuable  rings  and  jewels  came  from.^ 

The  treaty  of  Troyes  is  perhaps  the  greatest 
surrender  ever  made  by  one  great  power  to  another. 
It  is  to  be  remembered,  however,  that  it  was  really 
only  conceded  by  a  section  of  France.  And  that 
portion  of  France  which  did  not  assent  won  in  the 
end. 

The  treaty  opens  with  a  statement  that  the 
various  celebrated  treaties  negotiated  between 
France  and  England  had  not  produced  the  expected 
peace.  It  then  adverts  to  the  terrible  evils  caused 
by  the  present  state  of  war  to  both  kingdoms  and 
to  the  whole  Church.  Next  follows  the  first  article, 
to  the  effect  that  by  the  marriage  contract  between 
Henry  and  Katherine,  Henry  has  become  the  son  of 
Charles  VI  and  Isabella,  and  they  his  parents.  The 
second  article  secures  that  Henry  will  do  nothing 
as  long  as  Charles  VI  shall  live,  to  prevent  him  from 

^  Walsingham,  op.  cifc.,  II,  334. 
*  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  252-3. 
s  Waurin,  op.  cit.    291-2. 


234  HENRY  V  [1420 

enjoying  the  crown  and  royal  dignity  and  revenues 
of  France.  Nor  will  he  prevent  queen  Isabella  from 
enjoying  the  dignities  of  queen.  Then  follow  three 
articles  guaranteeing  a  proper  allowance  to  Katherine 
(about  £7000  a  year)  in  England,  and  a  smaller 
allowance  from  French  land,  if  she  should  outlive 
Henry.  The  sixth  and  seventh  articles  are  the  most 
important  :  after  the  death  of  Charles  VI,  the  crown 
and  realm  of  France  with  all  their  rights  are  to 
remain  with  Henry  and  his  heirs  ;  and  meanwhile, 
owing  to  his  father-in-law's  "  diverse  sickness," 
Henry  is,  during  Charles'  lifetime,  to  administer 
the  government  of  France,  "  with  the  Counsel  of 
nobles  and  wise  men  of  the  same  realm."  The  next 
four  articles  secure  that  Henry  will  maintain  all  the 
privileges  of  nobles,  cities,  communities  and  indi- 
viduals ;  shall  preserve  the  authority  and  superiority 
of  the  Parlement  of  Paris,  in  all  the  realm  of  France ; 
that  justice  shall  be  administered  according  to  French 
laws  and  customs  ;  and  that  Henry  shall  see  to  the 
appointment  to  all  offices  in  France  of  such  persons 
as  "  after  the  laws  and  rights  of  the  same  realm  .  .  . 
ought  for  to  be  taken  and  deputed  to  the  same 
offices."  Article  12  binds  Henry  to  labour  to  put 
into  obedience  to  Charles  VI  all  places  ''  holding  the 
party  .  .  .  commonly  called  Dauphin  or  Armagnac." 
The  next  articles  prescribe  the  forms  of  oath  to  be 
taken  by  the  estates  of  France,  with  regard  to 
observing  the  conditions  of  the  treaty.  By  article 
14,  all  conquests  made  against  the  Dauphin  outside 


1420]  THE  TREATY  OF  TROYES  235 

the  Duchy  of  Normandy,  are  to  be  given  up  to 
Charles  VI,  and  all  persons  obedient  to  him  there, 
are  to  be  restored  to  their  lands.  Articles  l^l,  15,  17, 
guarantee  their  position  and  privileges  (provided 
they  accept  the  treaty)  to  all  beneficed  clergy, 
monasteries,  churches,  universities  and  colleges  of 
students,  in  Normandy  or  the  kingdom  of  France. 
Article  18  pledges  Henry,  when  he  succeeds  to  the 
crown  of  France,  to  bring  Normandy  and  all  other 
places  conquered  by  him  in  France,  under  that  crown. 
By  article  19,  all  persons  who  have  lost  lands,  rents 
or  possessions,  by  obeying  Charles  VI  in  Normandy 
or  elsewhere,  are  to  be  restored  or  compensated.  The 
next  two  articles  govern  the  style  of  writs,  which 
are  to  run  in  the  name  and  with  the  seal,  wherever 
possible,  of  Charles  VI.  By  articles  21  and  22, 
Henry  is  not  to  use  the  title  of  king  of  France  during 
Charles'  lifetime ;  and  Charles  is  to  style  him 
"  Our  very  dear  son,  Henry,  king  of  England  and 
heir  of  France."  Article  23  protects  France  from 
impositions  not  justified  by  her  laws  and  customs. 
Article  24,  a  most  important  one,  provides  that  to 
prevent  any  future  conflicts  between  the  two  coun- 
tries, Henry  will  labour  with  the  estates  of  each 
realm  to  have  it  ordained  that  the  two  crowns  will 
always  be  united  in  the  same  person,  but  that  one 
crown  shall  not  be  subject  to  the  other,  and  that 
each  realm  shall  keep  its  separate  rights,  laws  and 
customs.  Article  25  enacts  that  henceforth  between 
the  two  realms  there  be  "  peace,  tranquillity,  good 


236  HENRY  V  [1420 

accord,  and  common  affection  and  stable  friendship 
and  steadfast  "  ;  and  they  are  to  give  each  other 
common  assistance  against  all  manner  of  men. 
Article  26  provides  for  the  inclusion  of  the  existing 
allies  of  either  realm  in  the  peace.  Article  27  binds 
all  three,  Charles  VI,  Henry  V  and  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  not  to  make  peace  with  the  Dauphin,  one 
without  the  others.  In  the  French  version  this 
article  is  made  "  out  of  consideration  of  the  horrid 
and  enormous  crimes  and  misdeeds  "  of  the  Dauphin. 
The  last  articles  (30-31)  provide  for  the  court  and 
household  of  Charles  who  was  not  to  be  taken  out  of 
his  dominions,  and  who  was  to  be  attended  only  by 
persons  born  in  the  kingdom  of  France,  or  places  in 
which  French  was  the  spoken  language.^ 

French  chroniclers  speak  of  this  treaty  as  disgrace- 
ful. ^  The  unnatural  thing  about  it  was  that  the 
mad  king,  Charles  VI,  was  induced  to  disinherit  his 
son  who  was  not  a  bad  man.  Yet  the  Frenchmen 
who  negotiated  it  are  not  to  be  considered  as  un- 
patriotic and  denationalised.  It  was  not  a  conquest 
of  France  by  the  English ;  France  (outside  Normandy) 
was  not  conquered.  It  was  not  a  surrender  of  France 
to  the  English.  It  was  a  personal  union  of  two 
realms  in  the  line  of  Henry  V,  who  was  not  without 
French  blood  in  his  veins.  The  kingdom  of  France, 
and  all  Frenchmen,  kept  their  laws  and  rights  just  as 

^  Latin  and  French  versions  in  Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  895-904  ; 
English  version,  916-20. 

^  J.J.  des  Ursins,  op.  cit.,  378,  "bienmerveilleuseethonteu.se." 


I420]  THE  TREATY  OF  TROYES  287 

before.  The  council  and  estates  of  native  Frenchmen 
were  to  govern  France,  just  as  the  council  and 
parliament  of  Englishmen  governed  England.  The 
only  constitutional  or  personal  change  made  by  the 
Treaty  of  Troyes  was  a  change  of  dynasty.  The 
house  of  Valois  was  disinherited,  and  the  house  of 
Plantagenet  put  in  its  place.  The  change  need  not 
have  been  any  more  offensive  to  the  French  than 
was  the  personal  union  of  England  and  Scotland 
under  the  house  of  Stewart  in  1603,  or  of  England 
and  Hanover  under  the  house  of  Brunswick  in  1714. 
The  difference  lay  in  the  matter  of  consent.  The 
English  in  1603  and  1714  adopted  foreign  dynasties 
voluntarily.  The  French  in  1420  accepted  a  foreign 
dynasty,  largely  under  compulsion.  So  the  union 
never  had  much  support  in  France.  But  had  Henry  V 
lived  to  see  middle  age,  and  had  France,  as  is 
conceivable,  become  the  predominant  partner  in  the 
union  (being  larger  and  wealthier  and  more  cultured), 
the  sentiment  with  which  Frenchmen  regard  the 
Treaty  of  Troyes  would  undoubtedly  have  been 
different. 


CHAPTER    XII 

FRANCE  AFTER  THE  TREATY  OF   TROYES 

Much  still  remained  to  be  done  before  Henry 
could  return  to  England.  South  of  the  Loire  he  had 
no  power  ;  even  north  of  the  Loire  the  Dauphin  had 
many  friends.  Most  of  Anjou  and  Maine  acknow- 
ledged him,  while  further  east  in  Champagne  itself, 
Sens  and  Montereau,  in  the  Isle  of  France,  Melun 
and  Meaux  were  held  by  his  captains.^ 

King  Henry  was  not  one  to  make  delays.  One  of 
the  stipulations  laid  down  in  the  Treaty  of  Troyes 
had  been  the  obligation  on  his  part  to  bring  back, 
so  far  as  he  could,  the  "  rebel  "  districts  to  obedience 
to  Charles  VI.  Henry  almost  at  once  set  about  his 
task.  On  2  June,  the  marriage  between  himself  and 
Katherine  was  solemnised  in  the  cathedral  of  Troyes. 
Only  the  third  day  after,  he  led  away  his  troops  to 
the  siege  of  Sens,  accompanied  by  Charles  VI,  the 
two  queens,  Isabella  and  Katherine,  and  Philip  of 
Burgundy  with  his  own  forces.  But  king  Henry 
would  not  suffer  Charles,  on  account  of  his  affliction, 
nor  the  two  queens  on  account  of  their  natural  dis- 
inclination, to  be  actually  present  at  the  siege.  They 
were  lodged  in  a  town  called  Villeneuve-le-roi.^ 

'  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  op.  cit.,  379.  -  "  Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  2(i7-8. 


c 


,  ^ 


r 


^■.•«  ft^M^  <»W  C..^  Q*^  te-^     Xy.^fc.'y.^-a.  ...^v.oS 


i 


--=5,-,  ^        J-  ^p\!^  '■  ^=,^ — ^— -.      .  ^^:i.  K 


P^      ^^K 


^y       X 


r^iuv' 


^ 


^,  /  ^  ^ '  ^^"^ '-  ^'^'\\ [i 


T 


*-t 


HOW   KINX.   HENRY  V  WAS  MARRIED  TO  DAME   KATHERIXE 

OF  FRANCE 

Warwick  Pageant.       Brit.  Mus.,  Cottoiiian  MS.,  Julius  E.  IV 


FRANCE  AFTER  TREATY  OF  TROYES  239 

The  investment  of  Sens  on  the  river  Yonne  was 
completed  on  7  June,  and  the  town  capitulated  after 
its  bridge  had  been  taken  by  assault.  King  Henry 
then  advanced  north  towards  Montereau,  taking  in 
some  small  Dauphinist  towns  on  the  way.  Like  the 
rest  of  this  war  since  Agincourt,  it  was  an  affair  of 
sieges.  The  Dauphin  did  not  risk  his  fortunes  on 
pitched  battles,  but  defended  his  towns,  and  when 
he  had  the  opportunity,  took  new  places  or  cut  off 
convoys. 

On  16  June  Henry  was  at  Bray  on  the  Seine,  and 
on  4  July  he  was  at  Montereau.  The  siege  had 
meanwhile  been  carried  on  with  great  vigour  by 
Philip  of  Burgundy,  anxious  to  take  from  the 
Dauphinists  the  scene  of  his  father's  murder.  ^  On 
23  June  Montereau  had  been  taken  by  assault. 
Duke  Philip  found  in  a  grave  in  a  church  his  father 
lying  all  gashed  as  he  was,  in  his  tunic  and  cap. 
The  body  was  removed  and  laid  in  the  family  burying- 
place  in  Dijon.  The  town  of  Montereau  was  taken, 
but  the  castle  held  out  till  4  July,  when  a  capitulation 
was  granted  by  Henry  on  honourable  terms. 

On  13  June  2  the  siege  of  Melun  had  been  begun. 
Charles  VI  and  the  two  queens  were  deposited  out 
of  the  way  in  the  castle  of  Corbeil.^  The  siege  of 
Melun  is  the  third  greatest  siege  in  this  the  second 
invasion  of  Henry  V    into   France.      The   first   was 

1  Ibid.,  271.  *  Ibid.,  211. 

'  Ibid.,  21  o.  But  towards  the  end  of  the  siege  they  were  present 
in  the  camp.  Chai'les'  presence  would  make  it  easier  for  the  garrison 
to  surrender.    Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  ccxxviii. 


240  HENRY  V  [1420 

that  of  Caen ;  the  second,  Rouen ;  the  third,  Melun, 
occupied  four  months.  This  town,  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Seine,  was  one  of  the  most  strongly 
fortified  in  France.  It  dominated  the  river  and 
commanded  the  road  to  Paris.  The  best  mihtary 
science  of  the  Middle  Ages,  which  was  particularly 
fruitful  in  methods  of  fortress-defence,  had  been 
utilised  for  it.  The  Seine  and  its  arms  made  three 
lines  of  defence  ;  the  massive  walls  smoothed  over 
with  a  preparation  of  asphalt,  were  equally  proof 
against  man  or  cannon-ball ;  the  ditches  were  of 
extraordinary  depth,  and  lateral  walls  cutting  them 
at  right  angles  to  the  main  walls,  would  isolate  the 
bodies  of  assailants  from  one  another,  and  expose 
them  to  deadly  cross-fires.  On  all  the  walls  were 
strong  high  towers  at  the  important  points  ;  and  in 
front  were  ante-mural  defences,  smaller  towers,  but 
of  great  strength,  connected  with  the  main  fortifica- 
tions, and  filled  with  artillery  and  other  devices  for 
harrying  the  besiegers.^  The  defence  of  this  im- 
portant town  had  been  committed  by  the  Dauphin 
to  the  Seigneur  de  Barbazan,  one  of  his  most 
experienced  and  trusted  captains. 

The  siege  was  conducted  by  king  Henry  mainly  as 
a  blockade.  All  the  ground  was  occupied  by  troops 
of  England  or  Burgundy,  and  all  the  waters  and 
branches  of  the  Seine  were  patrolled  by  boats. 
In  late  September  or  October  king  James  of  Scotland, 
who  had  now  during  fourteen  years  been  a  captive  in 

^  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  27G. 


FRANCE  AFTER  TREATY  OF  TROYES  241 

England,  joined  king  Henry's  army  in  front  of  Melun. 
The  besieged  made  many  sorties,  but  could  not  tempt 
king  Henry  to  order  an  assault  of  the  walls.  The 
Anglo-Burgundian  forces  were  strengthened  by  the 
arrival  of  Lewis  of  Bavaria,  Count  Palatine,  a  relation 
of  queen  Isabella's,  with  reinforcements.  This  man 
was  anxious  to  distinguish  himself  by  feats  of  arms, 
and  disliked  the  slow  process  of  the  blockade.  With 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy  he  tried  to  persuade  Henry 
to  order  the  assault.  Henry  "  patiently  and  gently 
heard  him  "  and  then  "  pointed  out  to  him  that  the 
matter  was  very  perilous."  But  he  added,  "  since 
they  had  that  fancy,  let  them  prepare  the  scaling 
ladders,  and  brushwood  and  faggots  to  fill  up  part 
of  the  ditches.  And  when  from  the  side  on  which 
they  were  stationed  they  were  ready  to  make  the 
assault,  from  his  side  he  would  do  his  duty."^  In 
time  the  assault  was  made,  but  proved  a  failure. 
Some  of  the  English  were  inclined  to  complain  and 
to  say  that  the  Burgundians  and  Bavarians  deserved 
the  heavy  losses  they  had  sustained.  But  king 
Henry  answered,  "  that  supposing  their  intention 
had  not  been  accomplished,  nevertheless  the  affair 
had  been  valiantly  done  and  undertaken  ;  and  in 
matters  of  war,  mistakes  might  be  as  valuable  as 
successes."^ 

The  siege  went  on  with  no  more  assaults.    Instead 
Henry  took  to  digging  mines,  in  which  he  was  very 

^  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  op.  cit.,  380. 
2  Ibid.,  381. 


242  HENRY  V  [1420 

expert.  The  besieged  used  the  usual  devices  to  dis- 
cover the  mines,  by  Hstening  for  hollow  sounds  in 
the  ground,  or  for  the  noise  of  pick  on  stone  in  the 
mine  below.  Counter-mines  were  dug,  and  many 
conflicts  took  place  between  besieged  and  besiegers 
in  the  narrow  passages  thus  opened  up.  King 
Henry  himself  entered  the  mines  and  fought  many 
"  duels  "  there,  on  one  occasion,  with  the  Seigneur 
de  Barbazan  himself.*  Nevertheless,  although  king 
Henry's  forces  could  not  make  an  entry  into  the 
town,  the  defenders  suffered  greatly  from  shortness 
of  food.  By  the  middle  of  October  all  the  flour  gave 
out,  and  there  was  no  more  bread.  The  soldiers  had 
to  live  on  horse,  "  which  is  a  thing  little  or  not  at 
all  nourishing."  2  As  the  main  article  of  diet,  it  did 
not  agree  with  the  men's  digestions,  but  produced 
stomachic  troubles.  Yet  the  Seigneur  de  Barbazan 
and  his  soldiers  held  out  obstinately,  although  they 
must  now  have  given  up  all  hope  of  relief.  For 
although  the  Dauphin  had  gathered  together  sixteen 
thousand  men  to  raise  the  siege,  the  design  had  been 
abandoned,  chiefly  owing  to  the  sudden  and  lamented 
death,  on  1  September,  of  the  commander  of  the 
army,  the  young  Comte  de  Vertus,  brother  of  the 
Duke  of  Orleans.  King  Henry  appreciated  the 
valour  of  the  besieged,  and  praised  their  courage  ;' 
but  he  would  not  grant  them  easy  terms,  when  they 
had  delayed  his  army  so  long. 

1  "Elmhara,"  op.  cit.,  28G  ;   Fir^t  English  Life,  168. 

2  J.  J.  do^  Ur.siiu,  up.  cit.,  ;58o.  »  Ibid.,  382. 


FRANCE  AFTER  TREATY  OF  TROYES   243 

Henry's  army  was  also  suffering  from  the  siege. 
Winter  was  at  hand,  and  in  the  damp  country-side, 
dysentery  seems  to  have  attacked  the  soldiers.^  But 
Henry  was  known  never  to  retire  from  an  unfinished 
siege.  He  steadily  went  on  filling  up  the  ditches  with 
faggots,  and  he  had  great  beams  specially  prepared 
and  used  as  battering-rams.  He  was  kept  well 
acquainted  with  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  town, 
by  information  gained  from  prisoners.  The  besieged 
were  almost  at  the  end  of  their  resources.  Accord- 
ingly the  commander,  the  Seigneur  de  Barbazan, 
had  no  course  left  open  but  to  surrender  to  Henry, 
who  after  such  a  prolonged  siege  and  so  many  losses, 
would  grant  no  terms.  On  17  November ^  the  town 
and  castle  had  to  be  yielded  up,  with  everyone 
inside,  and  their  life  or  death  left  to  the  mercy  of 
the  king.  Most  of  the  garrison  were  taken  in  boats 
to  Paris,  and  there  imprisoned.^  Twenty  of  the 
Scotsmen  serving  in  the  Dauphinist  garrison  were 
executed.  * 

After  making  arrangements  for  repairing  the  walls 
of  Melun,  and  leaving  an  English  garrison  there, 
Henry  with  Charles  VI,  the  two  queens,  and  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy,  marched  to  Paris,  which  they 

1  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  287. 
s  Rymer,  Focdera,  X,  29-30. 

*  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  287-8;  J.  J. desUrsius, op. cit.,  28i-5,  who 
says  Henry  first  granted  terms,  and  then  violated  them.  But  the 
exact  terms  are  given  by  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  CCXXXI,  296-7.  All 
surrendered  "  en  la  grace." 

*  Holinshed,  CAronicZes,  III,  577.  They  were  convicted  of  treason, 
as  their  king  Jaanes  I  was  in  Henry's  army  (as  a  prisoner). 


244  HENRY  V  [1420 

entered  on  1  December.  King  Henry,  while  the  siege 
of  Melun  was  still  going  on,  had  already  sent  one 
of  his  captains,  who  took  over  from  the  unwilling 
Burgundian  captain  the  command  of  the  Bastille.^ 
About  the  same  time,  the  other  fortresses  in  and 
around  Paris  were  given  up  to  English  captains. 
King  Henry  put  his  brother  Clarence  over  the  whole 
city  as  captain,  after  getting  Charles  VI  to  send  the 
Burgundian  captain  away  on  a  diplomatic  mission 
into  Picardy.2  But  this  precaution  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  necessary  to  secure  a  good  reception 
from  the  populace.  The  Burgundian  party  had 
always  been  popular  there.  Moreover,  the  entry  of 
the  Anglo-Burgundian  forces  meant  peace  in  the 
Isle  of  France,  and  the  consequent  reopening  of 
trade  and  commerce.  Before  this,  the  price  of  food, 
owing  to  the  state  of  war,  had  risen  so  high,  that  the 
whole  city  was  said  to  be  in  want.^ 

The  day  of  the  entry  of  the  kings  into  Paris, 
1  December,  was  the  first  Sunday  in  Advent.  The 
French  authorities  agree  that  they  were  given  a 
very  fine  reception.  Great  numbers  of  the  Parisian 
burgesses  assembled  to  greet  them.  The  city  was 
gay  with  rich  hangings  of  cloth.  The  two  kings  rode 
side  by  side,  Charles  VI  on  the  right,  and  Henry  V 
on  the  left.  Behind  them  came  the  English  and 
Burgundians  ;    on  the  right  side  of  the  street,  behind 

1  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  182-4. 

3  Monatrelet,  op.  cit.,  CCXXIX,  29i. 

^  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  op.  cit.,  374. 


FRANCE  AFTER  TREATY  OF  TROYES  245 

the  French  king,  came  the  Dukes  of  Clarence  and 
Bedford,  and  the  rest  of  the  Enghsh,  while  on  the 
left  side,  behind  king  Henry,  came  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  clothed  in  black,  and  the  rest  of  the 
Burgundians.  From  street  to  street  rang  from  the 
citizens,  the  cry  of  Noel  !  "  loud  and  high."^  "  Never 
were  princes  received  with  more  joy  than  they  were."  ^ 
Before  Notre-Dame  was  reached,  a  procession  of 
clergy  appeared  on  foot,  offering  the  kings  holy 
relics  to  kiss.  Charles  VI  turned  to  king  Henry  and 
made  him  a  sign  to  kiss  first,  but  Henry,  courteously 
touching  his  cap,  replied  that  Charles  should  be  the 
first.  So  it  was  done.  Then  all  proceeded  to  Notre 
Dame,  and  entered  and  made  their  prayers  before 
the  high  altar.  After  this  the  kings  and  noblemen 
mounted  their  horses  again,  and  went  to  their  separate 
lodgings,  Charles  VI  to  the  Hotel  St.  Pol,  king  Henry 
to  the  Louvre,  and  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  to  the 
Hotel  d'Artois.  On  the  following  day,  the  two 
queens  rode  into  Paris,  with  a  similar  great  reception 
from  the  burgesses.  Conduits  in  the  streets  were 
made  to  run  with  wine.^ 

The  twenty-seven  days  during  which  Henry 
remained  in  Paris  were  taken  up  with  business. 
The  Parlement  of  Paris,  the  highest  court  of  law, 
met  to  enquire  into  the  murder  of  the  late  Duke  of 
Burgundy.     An  assembly  of  the  Estates  of  France 

1  J.  J.  dea  Ursins,  op.  cit.,  384-5  ;    Monstrelet,  CCXXXII,  298. 

2  Journal  cVun  Bourgeois  de  Paris,  665. 

3  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  CCXXXII. 


246  HENRY  V  [1420 

was  held,  and  finally  the  necessary  appointments  of 
officials  were  made,  before  Henry  could  retire  to 
England. 

The  Parlement  met  at  the  Hotel  St.  Pol.  Charles  VI 
and  king  Henry  sat  together  on  the  same  bench, 
as  judges.  The  Dauphin  and  his  associates,  in 
absence,  were  formally  accused  of  the  murder  at 
Montereau,  and  were  adjudged  to  do  penance  in 
various  ways.  The  Estates-General,  which  also  met 
at  the  Hotel  St.  Pol,  had  much  important  business 
to  transact.  It  consisted  principally  of  men  who 
had  not  already  sworn  to  the  Treaty  of  Troyes.^  It 
met  on  6  December,  and  was  opened  by  Jean  le 
Clerc,  the  Chancellor,  with  a  sermon  on  the  evils 
which  war  had  brought  to  France.  Then  the  Estates 
were  dismissed  to  reassemble  on  the  third  day.  At 
the  next  session  accordingly,  the  great  peace,  the 
Treaty  of  Troyes  was  promulgated,  and  sworn  to. 
Charles  VI,  for  the  time  being  clear  in  his  mind 
and  master  of  his  faculties,  2  rose  and  with  uncovered 
head,  declared  that  of  his  free  will  he  desired  the 
Treaty  of  Troyes,  and  that  all  his  subjects  were 
perpetually  bound  by  it.  At  the  same  time,  in  the 
Estates,  the  Dauphin  was  solemnly  declared  in- 
capable of  inheriting  the  crown. 

Measures  were  taken  for  the  financial  stability  of 
the  kingdom.  The  French  coinage  was  in  a  particu- 
larly bad  state,  having  been  steadily  debased,  as  the 

1  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  289. 

2  Ibid.,  290-1. 


FRANCE  AFTER  TREATY  OF  TROYES  247 

fortunes  of  France  waned.  The  mark  was  now  made 
equal  to  eight  francs  ;  actually  seven  francs  of  silver 
were  to  be  put  into  each  mark,  the  remaining  one 
franc  being  the  seigneurage  of  the  government — by 
no  means  a  high  seigneurage,  according  to  the  practice 
of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  regular  taxes  were  imposed, 
the  privileged  burgesses,  merchants  and  clergy 
having  alike  to  contribute  their  share.  The  University 
of  Paris,  which  had  so  often  braved  the  wrath  of 
French  monarchs,  demanded  exemption  for  its 
members  from  the  taxes.  King  Henry  gave  them 
an  audience,  and  spoke  freely  and  haughtily  with 
them.  When  they  ventured  on  a  remonstrance, 
they  were  silenced  by  the  threat  of  being  sent  to 
prison.  1 

King  Henry  in  the  Estates  announced  his  intention 
of  returning  to  England,  and  he  immediately  took 
measures  for  the  government  in  his  absence.  His 
brother,  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  was  appointed  to  be 
Lieutenant  of  France,  the  Duke  of  Exeter  was  given 
the  position  of  guardian  of  king  Charles  VI.  English 
captains  in  certain  cases  displaced  Burgundian 
officers.  2  Meanwhile  Henry  held  his  court  at  the 
Louvre  in  royal  state.  His  attendant  Englishmen 
were  distinguished  by  their  splendid  bearing  and 
their  rich  apparel.  But  the  court  of  king  Charles, 
at  the  Hotel  St.  Pol,  was  small  and  poor  ;  and  no  one 
visited  him  but  a  few  of  his  old  servants,  and  some 

^  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  op.  cit.,  384-5. 

*  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  CCXXXIII,  299. 


248  HENRY  V  *  [1420 

people  of  small  estate.  This  caused  great  sorrow 
to  many  Frenchmen,  seeing  their  noble  kingdom  by- 
fortune  and  tribulation  of  war,  put  under  their 
ancient  enemies  ;^  so  that  Paris,  "  the  ancient  seat 
of  the  royal  majesty  of  France,"  was  become  "  a 
new  London."  2 

After  the  celebration  of  Christmas,  Henry  left 
Paris  on  27  December.  He  went  first  of  all 
to  Rouen,  where  he  issued  ordinances  for  the 
government  of  the  Duchy  of  Normandy.  He  held  a 
parliament  of  the  officials  and  nobles  of  the  Duchy.  ^ 
Arthur  of  Brittany  did  homage  for  his  lands  in 
Normandy.*  The  Duke  of  Clarence,  the  royal 
deputy  in  the  kingdom  of  France,  was  also  ap- 
pointed deputy  in  Normandy.  Two  great  Dauphinist 
nobles  of  the  south  sent  representatives  to  make  their 
submission  ;  the  Count  of  Armagnac,  whose  family 
had  lately  been  the  head  of  the  patriotic  French 
party,  and  the  Count  of  Foix,  who  had  previously 
conquered  Languedoc  for  the  Dauphin,  now,  by  their 
deputies,  acknowledged  king  Henry's  power.  This 
act  seemed  to  show  that  king  Henry  had  now  attained 
an  unquestioned  position  throughout  France.  The 
Count  of  Foix  even  agreed  to  lead  an  expedition  to 
reconquer  Languedoc  for  Henry's  party.  He  received 
money  for  the  expedition,  but  afterwards  broke 
his  word. 

1  Ibid. 

2  Chastellain,  I,   198.     Du  Fresne  de  Beaucourt. 

8  "  Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  292-3  ;   Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  336, 
*  Holinshed,  Chronicles,  578. 


FRANCE  AFTER  TREATY  OF  TROYES  249 

The  Estates-General  at  Paris  and  the  ParHament 
at  Rouen,  in  the  month  of  December,  1420,  mark 
the  highest  point  which  the  EngHsh  power  reached 
in  France.  The  official  French  government,  a  great 
part  of  the  nobility  and  the  bourgeoisie,  had  ex- 
plicitly acknowledged  the  power  of  the  English  king  : 
the  rest  of  the  people  in  at  least  half  of  France,  and 
probably  more  than  this,  acquiesced  in  the  English 
power,  and  where  king  Henry  personally  showed 
himself,  openly  greeted  him  with  enthusiasm.  For 
he  brought  with  him  military  glory  ;  he  gave  peace 
after  years  of  civil  and  foreign  war  ;  and  his  rule,  if 
it  was  strict,  was  just  and  equal.  ^  Never  again, 
after  the  Estates-General  at  Paris  and  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Rouen,  not  even  at  the  coronation  of  Henry  VI 
at  Paris  in  1431,  was  the  English  power  so  near 
to  getting  some  sort  of  acceptance  throughout  the 
greater  part  of  France.  The  Dauphin  was  an  outlaw, 
and  his  party  depressed  by  a  series  of  heavy  losses. 
But  from  this  time,  his  power,  with  a  few  fluctuations, 
steadily  recovered. 

From  Rouen,  apparently  at  the  beginning  of 
the  year  1421,  Henry  proceeded  towards  Calais. 
On  the  way,  towns,  such  as  Amiens,  which  had 
formerly  been  hostile  to  him,  now  greeted  him 
joyfully.  On  all  sides,  Henry  made  liberal  presents 
among  the  people.  At  Calais,  the  burgesses  and  the 
merchants  of  the  Staple  came  out  from  the  city  to 
meet  him,  but  more,  it  is  said,  to  see  his  young  queen, 

^  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  245. 


250  HENRY  V  [1421 

than  to  see  the  king,  who  was  already  known  to 
them.*  Without  delaying  in  Calais,  the  king  and  his 
small  following  (for  practically  all  his  army  remained 
behind  in  the  garrisons  of  France),'-^  took  ship  and 
landed  at  Dover  on  8  January.  Then  by  Canterbury 
and  Eltham,  the  royal  party  went  on  to  London  and 
Westminster. 

1  "Elmham,"  op,  cit.,  294-5. 
*  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  336. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

HENRY  IN  ENGLAND 

On  this,  his  second  return  to  England,  Henry 
was  treated  with  the  same  enthusiasm  as  when  he 
came  back  after  Agincourt.  The  French  war  was 
still  popular ;  it  was  not  costing  England  much, 
taxes  had  not  been  increased,  and  the  successes  of 
the  king  had  been  unbroken. 

As  a  rule  chroniclers  do  not  care  to  describe  the 
same  thing  twice,  and  for  this  reason  a  smaller 
amount  of  space  in  contemporary  annals  is  given 
to  the  triumph  accorded  to  Henry  on  his  second 
return  than  on  his  return  from  Agincourt.  Yet 
there  is  plenty  of  evidence  to  show  that  the  triumph 
was  actually  just  as  great.  It  must  not  be  supposed 
that  the  country  was  at  all  weary  of  the  French 
war,  or  that  Henry's  position  had  not  been  strength- 
ened by  it.  He  was  now  by  far  the  greatest  king  of 
his  time  in  Europe,  and  as  far  as  his  own  person  went, 
the  most  firmly  established  on  the  throne. 

When  the  king's  ship  put  in  at  Dover,  the  as- 
sembled barons  of  the  Cinque  Ports,  regardless  of 
their  costly  clothes,  leaped  into  the  water,  and 
brought  the  king,   and  also  the  queen  upon  their 

251 


252  HENRY  V  [1421 

shoulders,  to  dry  land.^  There  they  were  met  by  a 
great  assemblage  of  clergy,  nobles,  and  people,  who 
enthusiastically  cheered  both  king  and  queen.  But 
Henry,  without  delaying  long,  took  his  bride  on  to 
Canterbury.  There  he  stayed  a  few  days,  and  then 
went  on  to  London.  Queen  Katherine,  however, 
was  left  at  the  royal  manor  of  Eltham,  while  the 
king  went  forward  to  prepare  for  her  reception  in 
the  capital.  This  did  not  take  long  ;  in  a  few  days, 
as  arranged,  the  queen  entered  London.  Pageantry, 
magnificent  as  that  of  the  year  of  Agincourt,  was 
displayed.  The  streets  were  filled  with  citizens  ; 
music  was  heard,  artificial  towers  and  gateways  were 
erected,  symbolic  statues  were  placed  prominently 
along  the  route,  masques  were  held  in  open  spaces. 
Effigies  of  lions,  which  moved  their  eyes  and  limbs, 
showed  by  their  life-like  actions  how  readily  even 
they  obeyed  the  queen.  Castles  bristling  with  war- 
like instruments,  filled  with  armed  men,  opened 
their  gates,  and  capitulated  without  a  blow.  Elabo- 
rately garbed  apostles,  martyrs,  confessors  and  virgins 
sang  hymns  to  the  queen  as  she  passed.  ^  The  day 
was  one  of  triumphant  procession,  a  testimony  to  the 
popularity  of  the  king,  as  well  as  to  the  beauty  and 
the  charming  bearing  of  the  new  queen.  Finally, 
this  time  of  rejoicing  was  concluded  on  24  February, 
by  the  coronation  of  the  queen  in  Westminster, 
followed  by  a  splendid  coronation  banquet,  consist- 

1  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  296. 
^  "  Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  296-7. 


I42I]  HENRY  IN  ENGLAND  253 

ing — for  the  time  was  Lent — of  every  known  kind  of 
fish.i 

Almost  as  soon  as  he  returned  home,  Henry  set 
out  upon  a  progress  through  his  kingdom.  In  the 
Middle  Ages  it  was  customary  for  the  king  to  show 
himself  frequently  in  the  country.  This  gave  his 
subjects  the  chance  of  seeing  him.  It  gave  the  king 
a  chance  of  holding  court,  and  settling  disputes,  also 
of  seeing  that  law  and  order  were  properly  kept  in 
districts  remote  from  the  head-quarters  of  govern- 
ment. Finally,  the  progress  enabled  the  king  to  live 
for  short  periods  in  the  various  royal  manors  in  the 
country,  or  to  accept  the  hospitality  of  nobles  and 
towns,  so  that  the  problem  of  royal  housekeeping 
was  considerably  simplified.  Thus  the  king  com- 
bined business  with  pleasure  :  he  attended  to  his 
subjects'  wants  locally,  and  observed  things  which 
did  not  necessarily  come  before  him  when  local 
representatives  came  up  to  parliament.  He  con- 
sorted with  his  subjects  in  towns  and  villages  ;  and 
he  found  opportunities,  as  a  rest  from  administration, 
for  a  day's  hunting  now  and  then,  in  places  which  he 
had  not  hitherto  tried. 

So  as  soon  as  the  coronation  of  the  queen  was 
over,  king  Henry  went  on  progress,  largely  for 
business,  partly  for  pleasure,  and  also  for  religious 
purposes,  for  he  made  his  tour  include  many  of  the 
holy  places  of  England.  ^    He  travelled  through  the 

^  Holinshed,  Chronicles,  579. 
*  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  300. 


254  HENRY  V  [1421 

Midlands  to  the  Welsh  March,  as  far  as  Shrewsbury, 
and  gradually  worked  round  again,  till  at  Easter  he 
was  at  Leicester,  where  by  arrangement  he  met  the 
queen.  For  Katherine  had  not  at  first  gone  on  the 
progress,  but  had  remained  quietly  at  Windsor,  till 
the  time  came  for  her  to  go  to  Leicester  to  meet  the 
king.  Here  Henry  and  his  court  celebrated  Easter, 
which  fell  this  year  on  23  March.  Next  they  pro- 
ceeded northwards,  till  they  reached  York  on  2  April.  ^ 
From  there  the  king  turned  south  again,  and  visited 
the  shrine  of  St.  John  of  Beverley.  This  was  probably 
on  9  April.  2  It  was  just  after  leaving  Beverley  that 
he  received  news  of  the  disastrous  battle  of 
Beauge,^  which  was  to  hasten  his  return  to  the 
labours  of  the  war  in  France. 

Beauge  was  one  of  the  critical  battles  of  the 
Hundred  Years'  War.  Its  effects  cannot  be  over- 
estimated. It  decisively  checked  English  influence 
in  France.  Though  king  Henry  almost  at  once  re- 
estabhshed  the  power  of  England,  yet  he  could  only 
do  so  temporarily.  His  constitution,  never  particu- 
larly strong,  had  no  time  to  recover  and  be  restored 
after  the  prolonged  campaigns  of  the  years  1417  to 
1420.  Beauge  recalled  him  to  warfare  in  France, 
when  what  he  really  needed  was  an  interval  of  rest. 
It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  before  he  heard  of  the 
defeat,    he   had   already   declared   his   intention   of 

*  Rymer,  Foedera,  X,  96. 

*  The  king  was  at  Howden,  on  the  return  journey,  on  the  11th. 
Rymer,  X,  100. 

*  "Ehnhana,"  op.  cit.,  3U3. 


1421]  HENRY  IN  ENGLAND  255 

returning  to  the  scene  of  action  "  in  the  immediate 
future."*  In  a  document  issued  from  York  on 
7  April,  he  instructed  the  Earls  of  Northumberland, 
Westmoreland  and  others,  to  raise  loans  for  his 
forthcoming  expedition  to  France,  and  to  pay  over 
the  money  at  the  royal  treasury  before  the  first  of 
May.  This  was  before  the  news  of  Beauge  reached 
the  king.  Therefore  this  news,  when  it  did  come, 
cannot  have  hastened  Henry's  return  to  France  by 
more  than  one  or  two  months.  The  importance  of 
Beauge  lay  in  this  :  it  showed  that  the  English  were 
not  invincible,  and  that  having  experienced  defeat 
once,  they  might  often  have  to  face  it  again  at  the 
hands  of  the  French,  especially  when  Henry  V  was 
no  more. 

The  battle  of  Beauge  is  therefore  important 
because  of  its  moral  effect  on  the  Dauphinists,  and 
all  France,  and  because  it  hastened  the  return  of 
Henry  V  to  France  for  the  last  time.  Actually  it  was 
a  conflict  of  no  great  magnitude,  either  in  respect  of 
the  number  of  men  engaged,  or  of  the  amount  of 
territory  immediately  lost  or  gained.  When  Henry  V 
in  January,  1421,  left  Rouen  for  England,  his 
eldest  brother,  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  was  appointed 
to  be  the  king's  Lieutenant  or  deputy  in  France. 
Clarence  was  a  vigorous  and  faithful  supporter  of 
Henry.  He  was  at  this  time  aged  thirty-two,  and 
was  distinguished  as  a  dashing  leader  of  horse,  and, 
like  the  king,  he  was  trusted  and  admired  by  all  who 

1   "  In  proximo."    Ryraer,  Foedera,  X,  9(j. 


256  HENRY  V  [1421 

followed  him.  His  reputation,  however,  was  not  so 
great  as  that  of  Henry,  nor  were  his  abilities,  though 
eminent,  of  such  a  high  order.  The  Dauphin  under- 
stood this  well,  and  accordingly,  as  soon  as  king 
Henry  had  left  France,  he  recommenced  hostilities. 
He  already  was  master  of  practically  all  the  land 
south  of  the  Loire.  In  the  spring  of  1421,  he  mobiHsed 
an  army,  consisting  not  only  of  French,  but  of  Scots, 
brought  to  support  the  Dauphinists,  by  the  Earls  of 
Buclian  and  Wigton.^  An  invasion  was  begun 
against  the  Anglo-Burgundian  sphere  to  the  north 
of  the  Loire.  Clarence,  with  his  customary  resolution, 
took  immediate  steps  to  check  this  offensive  move- 
ment before  it  could  be  developed.  Normandy  was 
occupied  by  English  garrisons,  so  he  was  able  to 
raise  a  considerable  force  there,  estimated  by  the 
chronicler  des  Ursins  at  about  five  thousand  men,  of 
whom  a  large  number  were  archers.  He  marched 
southwards  into  Anjou,  and  by  the  day  before 
Easter,  22  March,  he  was  near  Beauge-en-vallee,^ 
which  is  on  the  little  river  Couasnon  in  Anjou, 
north  of  the  Loire.  The  Dauphinist  army  already 
occupied  the  villages  of  the  valley.  Clarence,  pushing 
forward  with  his  cavalry,  perhaps  1000,  or  1200 
men  in  all,  crossed  the  stream,  the  passage  of  which 
was  held  by  twenty-five  Scottish  archers  long  enough 
to  enable  numbers  of  the  French  to  come  up  to  the 
scene    of   action.^      The    Duke,    after    crossing    the 

1  The  Scots  entered  France  by  the  port  of  Rochelle. 

2  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  Hist,  de  Charles  VI,  389.  '  Ibid. 


I42I]  HENRY  IN  ENGLAND  257 

marshy  stream,^  became  engaged  with  the  enemy  ; 
most  of  his  archers  were  still  some  considerable  way 
behind,  and  took  no  part  in  the  action.  The  French 
fought  on  foot,  with  the  Scottish  archers  distributed 
among  the  men-at-arms.  The  English  were  totally 
defeated,  with  great  loss,  including  the  Duke  of 
Clarence.  When  the  action  was  over  and  the  French 
had  retired,  the  main  body  of  Clarence's  force  came 
up,  and  recovered  the  bodies  of  the  Duke  and  those 
who  had  died  with  him.  They  then  retreated  towards 
le  Mans.  2 

Such  was  the  news  which  reached  king  Henry 
after  he  had  left  Beverley.  The  king  took  the  night 
to  consider  the  matter,  and  in  the  morning  called  a 
council  of  the  nobles  and  officials  who  were  with 
him.  3  This  probably  took  place  at  Howden  on 
11  April.  All  who  were  present  agreed  that  the  king 
should  go  abroad.^  Henry  himself  does  not  seem  to 
have  hesitated  for  a  moment.  When  five  years 
before  he  had  set  off  on  the  campaign  of  Agincourt, 
he  had  risked  all,  on  the  chance  of  winning  a  new 
kingdom  in  France.  Now  that  he  had  won  his 
kingdom,  he  could  not  let  it  sHp  from  his  grasp 
owing  to  any  deficiency  of  energy  on  his  own  part. 
So  he  sent  off  word  to  his  officers  in  France  that 
they  should  hold  their  posts  at  all  costs  till  he  came, 
and  he  promised  to  arrive  at  the  scene  of  action 

1  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  339. 
^  J.  J.  de  Ursins,  op.  cit.,  390. 
3  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  307. 
*  Ibid.,  308. 

S 


258  HENRY  V  ti42t 

before  the  day  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  24  June,^ 
Nothing  more  could  be  done  at  present.  So  the 
king  and  queen  continued  on  their  way  to  London. 

On  2  May  2  parliament  met  at  Westminster.  This 
was  not  an  extraordinary  session  occasioned  by  the 
news  of  Beauge,  for  the  writs  of  summons  must  have 
gone  out  before  the  news  of  that  battle  reached 
king  Henry.  The  business  for  which  the  parliament 
was  originally  summoned  was  "  to  remedy  any 
wrongs  and  excesses  that  had  been  committed  in  the 
realm  since  the  last  passage  of  the  king."  Henry 
was  present  in  person.  The  Chancellor,  the  Bishop 
of  Durham,  in  the  opening  sermon,  referred  to  the 
great  deeds  of  king  Henry,  and  also  to  the  lamented 
death  of  the  noble  Duke  of  Clarence.  For  Speaker, 
the  commons  presented  to  the  king,  Thomas  Chaucer, 
a  son  of  the  poet.^  The  business  of  the  session  was 
transacted  without  any  difficulty,  as  there  seems  to 
have  been  thorough  accord  between  Henry  and  the 
Estates.  The  Treaty  of  Troyes  was  confirmed.  No 
special  taxes  were  imposed  for  the  forthcoming 
expedition  of  the  king,  but  the  council  was  authorised 
to  guarantee  all  debts  which  Henry  should  contract 
for  the  purposes  of  his  war  in  France.*  Sufficient 
money  was  forthcoming  in  the  country.  The  clergy 
granted  "  a  tenth,"  and  the  king's  uncle,  Henry 
Beaufort,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  lent  £14,000,  to  be 

1  Ibid.,  309. 

2  RoUh  of  Pari.,  IV,  129. 

3  Rolls  of  Pari.,  IV,  VAO. 
*  Rollii  of  Pari.,  IV,  130. 


I42I]  HENRY  IN  ENGLAND  259 

repaid  out  of  this  clerical  tenth.  The  king  was 
already  very  heavily  in  the  debt  of  this  patriotic 
prelate  whose  sincere  love  of  peace  did  not  prevent 
him  from  risking  his  fortune  till  the  war  should  be 
finished. 

Money  must  always  have  been  a  great  difficulty 
for  Henry  V,  for  the  parliament  expected  him  to 
carry  on  a  great  foreign  war,  without  increasing  the 
taxes  of  the  kingdom.  Any  loans  raised  were  sup- 
posed to  be  the  king's  private  affair,  for  which  he 
had  to  pledge  his  jewels,  and  such  other  assets  as  he 
possessed.  The  above  authorisation  of  parliament 
to  the  council  to  guarantee  the  king's  debts,  is 
perhaps  the  nearest  thing  to  the  recognition  of  a 
national  debt  to  be  found  in  the  Middle  Ages  in 
England. 

The  budget  of  the  government  took  no  account  of 
war  or  other  extraordinary  expenses.  ^  In  a  state- 
ment drawn  up  by  the  council  while  parliament  was 
sitting  (dated  6  May,  1421),  the  national  revenue  is 
put  down  as  £55,743,  out  of  which  had  to  be  paid  all 
the  regular  expenses  of  the  central  government, 
including  the  custody  of  England,  Ireland,  the 
Scottish  Marches  and  Calais.  When  all  these  expenses 
were  met,  a  surplus  of  only  £3507  was  left,  to  pay 
for  the  household  of  the  king  and  queen,  for  public 
works,  such  as  building  a  tower  at  Portsmouth,  and 

1  The  nation  intensely  disliked  taxation.  Even  the  ordinary 
taxes  and  loans  necessary  for  the  administration  at  this  time  were 
received  "  with  smothered  curses."    Adam  de  Usk,  Chronicon,  320. 


260  HENRY  V  [1421 

for  important  officials,  such  as  the  clerk  of  the  king's 
ships,  the  constable  of  the  Tower  of  London,  not  to 
mention  the  keeper  of  the  king's  lions.  ^ 

It  appears  that  Henry  meant  to  spend  as  little  as 
possible  on  this  new  expedition.  Within  little  over  a 
month  of  the  meeting  of  parliament,  everything  was 
ready.  When  he  embarked  at  Dover  on  10  June,  he 
took  with  him  less  than  1000  men.^  For  the  most 
part  his  army  was  to  be  made  up  of  the  garrisons  in 
France,  and  to  be  paid  for  from  the  revenues  of 
Normandy,  and  the  domains  of  Charles  VI.  The 
queen,  who  was  shortly  to  be  confined,  remained  in 
England.  The  Duke  of  Bedford  also  remained  to 
look  after  the  home  administration,  while  the  king's 
other  brother,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  went  with  the 
army  to  France.  The  unfortunate  king  James  of 
Scotland  had  still  to  follow  Henry,  although  there 
were  many  good  Scots  now  fighting  for  the  Dauphin. 

^  Proceedings,  II,  312-15. 

*  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  340  ;  Ramsay,  Lancaster  and  York, 
I,  295,  note,  gives  the  numbers  from  a  B.  M.  MS.  as  210  lances  and 
630  archers. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

THE   LAST  EXPEDITION 

Henry's  presence  was  badly  needed  in  France. 
For  the  Dauphin  was  making  progress  on  every 
side.  From  the  south-west  he  actually  threatened 
Paris,  although  Chartres,  which  was  held  by  a  Bur- 
gundian  garrison,  at  present  blocked  his  way.  In 
Champagne  and  Picardy  successes  had  been  gained 
against  the  Anglo-Burgundian  party  by  Etienne  de 
Vignolles,  better  known  as  La  Hire,  "  one  of  the 
flails  of  the  English  under  Charles  VII."  ^ 

King  Henry  had  the  faculty  of  looking  at  a  country 
as  a  whole.  Accordingly  his  plan  for  the  new  cam- 
paign was  on  a  comprehensive  scale.  Taking  the 
Norman  garrisons  as  his  base,  he  meant  to  work 
systematically  down,  well  to  the  west  of  Paris,  to 
the  Loire,  reducing  on  the  way  all  the  Dauphinist 
castles.  Next  he  meant  to  proceed  up  the  Loire,  and 
then  to  strike  north-eastwards  again,  and  thus  to 
come  up  on  the  east  of  Paris,  reducing  as  he  went 
the  important  Dauphinist  towns  on  the  borders  of 
Champagne.  In  carrying  out  this  plan  of  campaign, 
Henry   would   describe   a   wide   circle   round    Paris, 

1  Note  to  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  op.  cit.,  391. 
261 


262  HENRY  V  [1421 

would  take  in  the  towns  which  threatened  the 
capital,  and  would  gain  control  of  the  upper  Loire 
and  the  basins  of  the  Yonne  and  the  Marne.  A  great 
wedge  would  be  driven  into  the  Dauphinist  spheres 
of  influence,  and  the  way  prepared  for  a  further  ad- 
vance of  the  Anglo-Burgundian  forces  into  the  south. 

The  Dauphinists  had  captured  so  many  places 
north  of  the  Loire  that  "  they  held  Paris  as  it  were, 
in  blockade."^  From  Drcux  to  the  Loire  they  had  a 
regular  chain  of  fortresses.  Twenty  thousand  men 
were  besieging  Chartres  on  the  high  road  to  Paris. 
East  of  the  Isle  of  France,  another  chain  of  Dauphinist 
strongholds,  from  Joigny  to  Meaux,  commanded  all 
the  approaches  to  Paris  from  that  direction. 

But  Henry,  by  his  systematic  campaign,  speedily 
freed  the  Isle  of  France.  After  landing  at  Calais  on 
10  June,  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  collect  forces 
and  to  advance  southwards  towards  Dreux  and 
Chartres,  towards  the  district  in  which  the  Dauphin 
was  personally  conducting  operations.  But  the 
Dauphin  did  not  wait  for  the  king's  coming.^  He 
retired  to  the  Loire,  as  an  epidemic  had  broken  out 
in  his  army.^  From  this  time  his  resolution  seems 
to  have  failed  him,  and  never  again  in  his  long  life 
did  he  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  fighting  army.* 
Chartres   was   thus   relieved   without   a   blow   being 

^  G.  du  Fresne  de  Beaucoui-t,  Histoire  de  Charles  VII,  I,  48. 

-  "Elmham,"  op.  eit.,  309. 

^  G.  du  Fresne  de  Beaucourt,  op.  cit.,  I,  50,  229. 

,      *  Ibid..  230. 


1421  THE  LAST  EXPEDITION  263 

struck.  King  Henry  did  not  go  far  south.  Leaving 
his  brother  Gloucester  to  conduct  the  siege  of  the 
Dauphinist  stronghold  of  Dreux,  he  himself  went  to 
Paris  to  see  his  father-in-law,  and  to  attend  to  the 
government  there.  He  reached  Paris  on  4  July,  and 
after  a  stay  of  four  days,  departed  for  Mantes,  where 
he  met  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.^  Then  he  joined  his 
forces  at  the  siege  of  Dreux. ^  This  siege  was  the  first 
important  step  in  Henry's  circular  movement  round 
the  Isle  of  France. 

Dreux  is  a  strong  town  situated  on  the  river 
Blaise.  Above  the  town  rises  a  high  rock  or  hill  on 
which  a  castle  was  built.  Both  town  and  castle  were 
held  by  the  Dauphinists.  Henry  did  not  stay  con- 
tinuously at  the  siege,  as  little  more  than  a  blockade 
was  necessary,  and  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  carried 
the  work  on  satisfactorily.  The  king  of  Scots  re- 
mained with  the  forces  before  Dreux.  Henry  went 
back  to  the  capital,  staying  however,  not  in  Paris 
itself,  but  in  the  fine  castle  at  Bois  de  Vincennes.^ 
As  the  Dauphin's  retiral  to  the  Loire  had  made  all 
hope  of  relief  for  the  garrison  in  Dreux  futile,  the 
usual  agreement  was  entered  into  on  8  August,  that 
the  town  and  castle  would  open  their  gates  if  no 
succour  came  within  four  days.  Accordingly,  on 
12  August,  the  garrison  of  Dreux  marched  out  freely, 
and    the    English    took    possession.      King    Henry 

»  Monstrelet,  La  Chronique,  CCXLIV,  305. 

»  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  309. 

'  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  op.  cit.,  391. 


264  HENRY  V  [1421 

arrived  on  20  August,  ^  and  at  once  began  preparations 
for  his  march  to  the  Loire.  He  had  ah*eady  secured 
the  Dauphinist  places  which  threatened  Paris.  For 
besides  Dreux  other  of  the  enemies'  castles  had  fallen  : 
Crocy,  Tillieres,  Nogent,  Parnan  and  Galardon.^ 
Meanwhile  the  Dauphin  still  had  large  forces  at 
Beaugency  on  the  Loire.  King  Henry  "  as  his 
manner  was,"^  determined  not  to  wait  to  be  attacked, 
but  to  march  straight  to  Beaugency.  But  the 
Dauphin  did  not  wait  for  him.  Henry  reached 
Beaugency  about  the  beginning  of  September,  and 
blockaded  it  for  fifteen  days,  at  the  end  of  which 
the  town  submitted.*  But  the  valley  of  the  Loire 
was  now  incapable  of  supporting  an  army.  The 
country  round  Beaugency  was  found  to  be  very 
sterile  (cultivation  must  have  been  almost  com- 
pletely interrupted),  and  the  English  army  suffered 
from  famine.^  Dysentery  broke  out  in  the  camp, 
and  it  was  said  that  three  thousand  English  soldiers 
died.^  The  number  is  greatly  exaggerated,  but  the 
epidemic  was  evidently  severe  ;  des  Ursins  says  that 
English  soldiers  were  to  be  found  along  the  road- 
sides, lying  dead. 

There  was,  however,  no  intention  in  the  king's 
mind  of  remaining  long  in  the  Loire  valley.  His  next 
objective    was    Villeneuve-le-roi,    on    the    Yonne,    a 

*  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  311.  -  Ibid. 
3  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  312. 

*  "Eli:nham,"op.  cit.,  312.  Cp.  G.  duFresnedeBeaucourt,  op.  cit., 
I,  231,  letter  of  Dauphin  to  city  of  Lyon. 

*  Ibid.,  313,  ^  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  op.  cit.,  391. 


I42I]  THE  LAST  EXPEDITION  265 

town  which  the  Dauphinists  had  lately  recaptured. 
The  great  city  of  Orleans  seemed  to  bar  the  way. 
King  Henry  would  have  liked  to  invest  and  take  this 
metropolis  of  the  Loire,  but  the  place  was  too  strong. 
He  halted  before  Orleans  long  enough  to  capture  all 
the  suburbs,  which  were  really  indefensible.  The 
English  soldiers  were  much  relieved  by  the  stores  of 
wine  which  were  found  there.  ^  The  king  then 
passed  on.  Orleans  could  not  be  taken,  but  it  could 
not  stop  the  king's  march. 

From  Orleans  Henry  took  a  north-easterly  direction, 
towards  Joigny  and  Villeneuve-le-roi.  The  army 
was  still  suffering  from  famine.  Men  and  horses 
alike  broke  down  and  died  of  hunger.  Many  other 
men  would  have  died,  had  not  the  king,  "  in  his  pity," 
ordered  that  carts  should  be  prepared  and  used  for 
transporting  them.^  Some  relief  was  obtained  from 
the  capture  of  the  castle  of  Rougemont,  which  was 
well  filled  with  provisions.  Villeneuve-le-roi  was 
taken  on  22  September.^  From  there  northwards 
no  great  Dauphinist  fortress  threatened  the  Isle  of 
France,  until  Meaux  was  reached.  This  town  com- 
manded the  valley  of  the  Marne,  and  was  too  near 
Paris  to  be  left  untaken,  as  king  Henry  had  left 
Orleans.  The  siege  accordingly  began  on  6  October.^ 
Meaux  was  a  large,  important  and  well-fortified 
town.    The  river  Marne  ran  through  it,  so  that  king 

1  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  313. 

2  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  314. 

^  Ibid.  '    'Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  31G. 


266  HENRY  V  [1421 

Henry  had  to  divide  his  forces  into  two  parts,  to 
besiege  it.  The  king  must  now  have  been  feeling  the 
effects  of  the  bad  season  and  the  long  campaigning, 
for  he  gave  over  the  command  of  the  camp  to  the 
Duke  of  Exeter,  while  he  himself  lodged  at  the  castle 
of  Ruthille,  one  mile  distant.^  The  usual  care,  so 
characteristic  of  Henry,  was  taken  in  carrying  on  the 
siege  operations,  A  bridge  was  constructed  on  boats 
to  connect  the  two  portions  of  the  besieging  army  ; 
and  Henry  took  special  care  to  arrange  for  markets 
to  be  established,  where  the  people  of  the  country 
could  sell  all  necessaries  freely  and  in  safety  to  the 
soldiers.  This  was  a  new  experience  for  the  country- 
people  of  Brie,  for  hitherto  one  of  the  chief  officers 
in  Meaux,  the  "  Bastard  of  Vaurus,"  had  desolated 
all  the  region  around,  and  ruthlessly  ill-treated  the 
peasants.  ^ 

The  siege  of  Meaux  was  to  be  a  long  and  difficult 
affair.  King  Henry  must  have  recognised  this  soon, 
as  he  early  left  the  castle  of  Ruthille,  and  took  up 
his  abode  in  the  camp,  at  the  abbey  of  St.  Pharon, 
which  stood  outside  the  walls  of  Meaux.  Before  the 
year  was  past,  the  rain  came  down  in  torrents,  and 
the  Marne  overflowed  its  banks,  so  that  the  besieged 
were  able  to  issue  out  in  small  boats,  and  attack 
isolated  divisions  of  the  English.  Famine  again 
menaced  the  army.  But  king  Henry  organised 
convoys  from  Paris,  for  the  road  even  from  there 

1  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  316. 

2  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  315-16. 


I42I]  THE  LAST  EXPEDITION  267 

was  not  safe  from  Dauphinists,  and  at  his  own 
personal  expense,  he  had  food  distributed  among  the 
soldiers.  More  than  this,  he  turned  his  own  house- 
hold into  a  public  institution,  and  daily  provided 
meals  there,  it  is  said,  for  as  many  as  a  thousand 
persons.  ^ 

The  siege  dragged  on  for  seven  months.  If  every 
fair-sized  town  in  France  was  to  resist  like  this,  the 
task  of  subduing  the  whole  kingdom  for  king  Henry 
would  be  impossible.  The  greatest  efforts  were 
made  on  the  English  side.  But  the  army  was  greatly 
diminished  :^  "  for  this  was  the  hardest  year  that 
man  had  ever  seen."  Henry  himself  was  in  weak 
health,  and  although  he  showed  himself  fertile  as 
ever  in  devising  siege-works,  and  building  engines^ 
of  war,  yet  all  his  efforts  were  met  with  equal  energy 
by  the  besieged.*  It  was  a  tedious  and  depressing 
time  for  everyone.  But  about  the  festive  season  of 
Christmas,  to  raise  the  spirits  of  the  army,  came  the 
news  that  on  6  December  the  Queen  in  England  had 
given  birth  to  a  son,  the  future  Henry  VI.  "  King 
Henry's  heart  was  filled  with  great  gladness  .  .  .  ; 
also  throughout  the  kingdom  there  was  perfect  joy 
displayed,  more  than  there  had  been  seen  for  a  long 
time  before  about  any  other  royal  infant."^  The 
king  must  have  felt  more  anxious  than  ever  to  finish 

1  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  318. 

2  Vi'^alsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  .342,  "  pauco  exercitu  relicto." 
^  "  Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  323. 

*  Ibid.  ^  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  361. 


268  HENRY  V  [1422 

off  the  siege,  and  to  secure  what  he  could  of  the 
realm  of  France,  now  that  an  heir  was  assured  to 
him. 

The  siege  dragged  on  during  the  spring.  A 
gallant  attempt  to  succour  the  besieged  was  made, 
probably  at  the  end  of  February  or  beginning  of 
March,  by  the  Lord  of  Offemont,  a  Dauphinist  leader 
who  had  already  distinguished  himself  against  the 
Burgundians  in  Picardy.  Offemont  with  only  forty 
men  made  his  way  at  night  through  the  division  of 
the  Duke  of  Exeter,  and  arrived  safely  in  front  of 
the  walls  of  Meaux,  where  the  battering  of  the  siege- 
works  had  made  the  wall  low.  But  the  town-ditch 
had  still  to  be  crossed,  and  Offemont,  who  crossed 
last,  fell  off  the  plank,  in  full  armour,  into  the  water. 
Although  his  men  reached  their  lances  to  him,  he 
was  too  heavy,  by  reason  of  his  armour,  to  be  easily 
pulled  out.  Meanwhile  the  English  watch  had  been 
roused,  and  coming  up  captured  all  those  who  had 
not  already  mounted  the  walls,  including  the  Lord 
of  Offemont.  This  nobleman  was  taken  before  king 
Henry,  who  was  pleased  that  the  attempt  had  been 
frustrated,  and  who,  while  keeping  Offemont  as  a 
prisoner  of  war,  saw  that  his  person  was  well  cared 
for.i 

The  failure  of  the  attempt  of  the  Lord  of  Offemont 
greatly  discouraged  the  besieged,  so  that  they  began 
to  transport  their  property  to  the  southern  side  of  the 

1  "Elmliam,"  op.  cit.,  321-2  ;  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  CCLVII  ; 
Waurin,  323. 


1422]  THE  LAST  EXPEDITION  269 

river,  where  was  the  strongly  fortified  quarter,  known 
as  the  "  Market."  When  tlie  transference  was  com- 
plete, the  garrison  evidently  meant  to  follow,  and 
defend  themselves  to  the  last  there.  But  before  this 
plan  was  accomplished,  it  was  detected,  and  king 
Henry's  forces  suddenly  attacked  the  "  Town,"  and 
so  forced  the  garrison  to  retire  across  the  river  to  the 
"  Market,"  hastily  and  with  great  loss.  The  peaceful 
towns-people  and  other  non-combatants  were  left  on 
the  northern  bank,  in  the  "  Town."^  The  "  Market  " 
was  strong,  not  merely  by  reason  of  its  fortifications, 
but  because  it  was  surrounded  by  channels  of  the 
river.  ^  The  garrison  which  went  there  consisted  of 
desperate  men  who  meant  to  fight  to  the  death.  For 
the  Bastard  of  Vaurus  knew  that  his  previous  acts 
of  ferocity  had  left  him  no  hope  for  mercy,  and  the 
Scottish  and  Irish  members  of  the  garrison  also  knew 
that  terms  would  never  be  granted  to  them. 

Once  the  "  Town  "  was  gained  by  king  Henry 
matters  were  somewhat  easier.  For  one  thing,  his 
army  now  had  good  quarters  to  live  in,  and  the 
season  was  improving  ;  for  another,  he  could  now 
concentrate  a  great  part  of  his  forces  on  the  vital 
point  of  the  "  Market,"  the  bridge  which  connected 
it  with  the  "  Town."  This  was  a  kind  of  drawbridge, 
and  the  garrison,  after  they  had  crossed  over,  had 
drawn  a  large  section  of  it  up.  There  remained, 
however,    the    section    which    projected    from    the 

1  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  363  ;    "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  321. 

2  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  323. 


270  HENRY  V  [1422 

northern  bank,  and  which  had  not  been  drawn  up. 
The  hasty  retreat  of  the  garrison  across  to  the 
"  Market "  had  no  doubt  prevented  them  from 
destroying  the  "  Town  "  end  of  the  bridge. 

It  is  clear  from  indications  given  in  contemporary 
accounts  of  the  siege  that  the  "  Market  "  was  weakest 
on  the  river-side,  as  the  mihtary  engineers  who 
fortified  it  had  probably  not  contemplated  a  siege 
from  the  side  of  the  "  Town."  So  king  Henry  con- 
centrated much  of  his  attention  on  the  bridge.  He 
invented  a  huge  wooden  turret,  moving  on  wheels, 
which  could  be  pushed  on  to  the  standing  north  end 
of  the  bridge.  This  kind  of  tower  was  so  built,  that 
when  it  stood  on  the  bridge,  part  of  it  projected  over 
the  gap,  where  the  bridge  was  interrupted,  towards 
the  other  portion  which  was  elevated.  On  to  this 
elevated  portion  men  were  able  to  step,  as  from  a 
high  ladder,  and  so  were  able  to  reach  the  Market 
side,  and  to  attempt  forcing  a  direct  entry  at  the 
Market  Bridge-gate.^  The  channels  of  the  Marne 
which  surrounded  the  "Market"  on  the  other 
sides  were  crossed  in  small  boats  and  on  floating 
bridges.  2 

By  about  the  middle  of  April  breaches  had  been 
made  in  several  parts  of  the  "Market's  "  walls.  Accord- 
ingly king  Henry  sent  the  garrison  a  summons  to 
surrender.  But  this  was  refused,  so  the  king  ordered 
a  general  assault.     The  besieged  were  now  in  the 

1  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  323. 

2  Ibid.,  324. 


1422]  THE  LAST  EXPEDITION  271 

greatest  straits,  as  most  of  their  lances  were  broken. 
However,  they  managed  to  beat  off  the  assault, 
using  iron  spits  for  lances.^  This  fight  lasted  seven 
to  eight  hours,  and  caused  much  loss  of  life  on  both 
sides. 

There  was  now  no  hope  of  relief.  The  Dauphin 
had  given  up  operations  on  a  large  scale,  and  con- 
fined himself  to  besieging  isolated  Anglo-Burgundian 
towns  and  castles.  Moreover  the  English  had  captured 
the  watermills  of  the  "Market,"  so  that  the  besieged 
could  not  grind  the  corn  which  had  been  stored  up 
for  the  siege.  2  So  about  the  end  of  April,  ^  the 
garrison  asked  that  negotiations  for  a  surrender 
might  be  reopened.  This  request  was  granted  by 
Henry,  and  commissioners  were  appointed  on  either 
side.  After  several  meetings  it  was  finally  arranged 
that  on  10  May  the  "  Market  "  should  be  surrendered. 
The  garrison  were  to  be  free  with  respect  to  their 
lives,  with  certain  exceptions.  Twelve  men  were 
named  who  should  be  at  the  will  of  the  king.  These 
were  the  chief  officers  of  Meaux,  and  "  one  that  blew 
and  sonned  an  Home  during  the  Siege."  Likewise 
any  English,  Irish  and  Scottish  soldiers  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  defence  were  to  be  at  the  will  of 
the  king ;  and  also  any  man  who  had  been  an 
accomplice  in  the  murder  of  John,  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
at  Montereau.     The  rest  of  the  garrison  were  to  be 

^  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  370. 
=  Ibid.,  364. 
3  Ibid.,  371. 


272  HENRY  V  [1422 

prisoners.  All  goods  and  valuables  within  the  Market 
were  to  be  inventoried  and  delivered  up  to  com- 
missioners of  the  king.  "  And  so  the  tenth  day  .  .  . 
the  Market  of  Meaux,  and  all  the  Town  was  yielded 
in  the  manner  and  form  as  it  is  before  said.''^ 

The  terms  were  carried  out  to  the  letter  by  king 
Henry.  The  Bastard  of  Vaurus  was  forthwith 
hanged  on  a  tree  outside  Meaux,  on  which  he  had 
been  wont  to  have  his  own  Burgundian  and  English 
prisoners  hanged.  This  bore  the  name  of  "the 
Vaurus  Tree."  Louis  Gast,  the  other  chief  captain 
of  Meaux,  and  two  other  officers  were,  as  the  king 
had  explicitly  mentioned  iji  the  capitulation-treaty, 
"  put  to  their  doom  "  ;2  as  was  also  "  the  man  who 
had  played  the  cornet  on  the  wall,  mocking  those 
who  were  in  the  camp."^  These  executions  took 
place  at  Paris. 

After  the  surrender,  king  Henry  had  the  booty 
distributed  among  the  army,  according  to  the 
customary  shares  ;  and  for  some  days  he  stayed  in 
the  Market-place,  "  to  enjoy  himself  a  little,  and  rest 
after  the  labour  he  had  undergone."^ 

The  terms  granted  to  Meaux  were  hard.  The 
chief  officers  were  invited  to  surrender,  with  the 
distinct  promise  that  they  would  be  executed.  They 
had  before  refused  to  surrender,  after  the  failure  of 


1  Rymer,  Foedera,  X,  212-14. 

2  Rymer,  Foedera,  X,  212. 
^  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  374. 

*  Ibid. 


HENRY  V 
Brit.  Mus.,  Cotton  MS.,  Julius  E.  I\',  f.  8b. 


1422]  THE  LAST  EXPEDITION  273 

the  attempted  relief  of  the  Lord  of  Offemont.  Thus 
by  holding  out  after  all  hope  of  relief  was  gone, 
they  had  caused  additional  waste  of  life  among  the 
besieging  army.  Accordingly  king  Henry,  by  the 
customs  of  war,  might  have  stormed  and  sacked  the 
"Market."  Instead  of  this,  he  offered  terms,  on  con- 
dition that  the  responsible  officers  should  submit  to 
lose  their  lives.  These  brave  men  agreed,  and  king 
Henry  forthwith  had  them  executed.  Their  doom 
was  hard,  but  they  must  have  been  anticipating  it 
all  through  the  siege.  The  death  of  the  trumpeter  is 
to  be  regarded  in  a  different  light.  He  ought  to  have 
been  beneath  the  notice  of  the  king,  or  at  least  Henry 
ought  not  to  have  specially  remembered  him  at  the 
capitulation.  The  garrison  had  been  needlessly  insult- 
ing, as  when  they  are  said  to  have  brought  an  ass  on 
to  the  walls,  "  and  made  it  bray  by  the  force  of  the 
blows  which  they  gave  it,  mocking  the  English,  and 
saying  that  this  was  their  king  Henry,  and  that  they 
ought  to  come  and  help  him."  ^  Perhaps  the  trumpeter 
had  something  to  do  with  this  ;  or  it  may  be  that  he 
trumpeted  defiantly,  and  that  the  story  of  the  ass 
later  grew  out  of  this  incident.  The  circumstances 
are  not  sufficiently  known.  All  that  can  be  said 
with  certainty  is  that  in  some  way  he  had  offended 
against  the  dignity  of  the  king,  and  for  this  he  was 
executed.  With  regard  to  the  English  (if  any),  the 
Irish,  and  Scots,  who  fought  in  the  garrison  of 
Meaux,   it  is   not   stated  that  they  were  executed. 

^  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  370. 


274  HENRY  V  [1422 

Apart  from  the  five  chief  men  and  the  trumpeter 
who  gave  up  their  Hves,  there  were  eight  hundred  who 
were  kept  as  prisoners  of  war,  in  Paris,  or  Normandy, 
and  in  the  castles  of  England  and  Wales.  ^ 

»  Monstrelet,  op.   cit.,  CCLXI  ;    Rymer,  Foedera,  X,  214,  215, 
225,  226. 


CHAPTER    XV 

THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  HENRY  V 

When  Meaux  had  surrendered  and  the  "  Market "  had 
been  delivered  up,  king  Henry  felt  that  the  time  had 
come  to  have  his  queen  in  France,  so  that  she  might 
show  herself  to  those  who  were  to  be  his  subjects  in 
France  as  well  as  to  those  in  England.  Accordingly 
queen  Katherine  left  England  with  the  Duke  of  Bed- 
ford (the  baby  prince  Henry  was  left  behind  at  Wind- 
sor), and  landed  at  Harfleur  on  21  May.^  Then  by 
Rouen  they  travelled  with  a  military  escort  to  Bois 
de  Vincennes.  They  probably  arrived  here  on  or  about 
25  May.  Here  also  came  king  Henry,  from  Meaux, 
and  Charles  VI,  and  the  Queen  of  France  from 
Paris.  After  sojourning  some  days  at  this  favourite 
abode  of  king  Henry,  the  court  moved  back  to  Paris 
on  30  May, 2  to  celebrate  Pentecost,^  which  fell  this 
year  on  31  May.  Henry  and  his  queen  stayed  at  the 
Louvre,  Charles  VI  and  Isabella  at  the  palace  or 
*'  hotel  "  of  St.  Pol.  Again,  as  on  former  occasions, 
the  Parisians  were  disagreeably  struck  at  the  difference 
between  the  splendid  court  of  king  Henry  and  the 

1  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  CCLXIII 

2  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  377. 

»  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  329. 
275 


276  HENRY  V  [1422 

meagre  household  of  king  Charles.  They  greatly 
murmured  too  at  the  impost  which  Henry  took 
occasion  to  levy  in  order  to  carry  through  his  scheme 
for  recoining  the  mark.  They  murmured,  but  they 
had  to  submit.^  Only  a  few  days  were  spent  by  the 
court  in  Paris  ;  the  next  move  was  to  Senlis,  on 
12  June,2  and  to  the  valley  of  the  Oise,  where  the 
last  Dauphinist  strongholds  towards  Picardy  were 
rapidly  falling  in.  Among  these  was  Compiegne 
which  had  lately  surrendered.  King  Henry  paid  a 
hasty  visit  to  it,  but  within  three  days,  he  was  back 
again  in  Senlis.  ^ 

It  was  at  Senlis,  in  the  middle  of  June,  that  the 
king  began  to  feel  acutely^  the  attacks  of  the  disease 
which  was  soon  to  carry  him  off.  He  was  "  much 
more  seriously  ill  than  he  thought."^  Indications 
are  not  wanting  that  he  had  been  ailing  all  through 
the  siege  of  Meaux,  but  his  power  of  will  carried  him 
on.  What  the  disease  actually  was  is  difficult  to 
ascertain  from  the  vague  accounts  of  the  chroniclers. 
One  says  that  he  had  an  "  acute  fever  with  violent 
dysentery";^  another  refers  to  the  illness  only  in 
general  terms,  as  a  "severe  languor,"  and  a  "severe 
infirmity,"'  The  most  explicit  statement  is  that  of 
the  chronicler  Waurin,  who  was  serving  in  the 
Burgundian   army  :     "I   have   since  been  truly  in- 

»  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  378.  ^  Ibid.,  381. 

^  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  329  ;   Waurin,  op.  cit..  381. 

*  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  329,  *  Ibid, 

*  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  343. 
'  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  329,  330. 


1422]        THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  HENRY  V         277 

formed  concerning  the  principal  disease  by  which  the 
said  king  was  brought  to  his  death,  namely,  that  it 
was  by  an  inflammation  which  seized  him  in  the 
fundament,  and  which  is  called  the  disease  of  St. 
Anthony."^  Probably  the  king  was  suffering  from 
two  things  ;  from  ague,  brought  on  during  the  siege 
of  Meaux,  among  the  floods  of  the  Marne,  and  from 
an  internal  ulcer,  ^  which  may  have  been  caused  by 
the  incessant  hardships  of  campaigning,  combined 
with  a  lack  of  good  food.  For  the  king,  like  his 
soldiers,  had  suffered  from  the  scarcity  of  good  fresh 
food,  due  to  the  wasted  condition  of  the  country, 
and  to  the  bad  season. 

While  Henry  was  suffering  from  his  malady  at 
Senlis,  news  came  that  a  great  force  of  the  Dauphin's 
party  had  invaded  the  territories  of  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  and  were  besieging  Cosne,  in  the  upper 
basin  of  the  Loire.  The  garrison  was  hard  pressed, 
and  had  entered  into  a  compact  to  surrender,  unless 
relieved  within  a  fixed  time.  So  Henry,  "  forgetful 
of  his  illness,  but  mindful  of  his  compact  with  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy,"^  leaving  his  queen  behind,  set 
forth  with  what  forces  he  had  to  relieve  Cosne. 
At  Senlis  therefore  he  parted  from  Charles  VI  and 
queen  Isabella,  and  from  his  own  queen,  Katherine, 

'   Waurin,  op.  cit.,  389. 

2  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  (II,  383),  mentions  that  the  sickness  so 
exhausted  the  king's  strength,  that  his  physicians  did  not  dare  to 
administer  medicines  internally.  This  points  to  an  internal  ulcer,  or 
stomachic  inflammation,  which  might  only  be  aggravated  if  the 
king  were  given  medicines  and  crude  fluids  to  drink. 

3  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  330. 


278  HENRY  V  [1422 

none  of  whom  he  was  ever  to  see  again.  ^  Being  too 
ill  to  ride,  he  was  borne  in  a  horse-litter,  "  redeeming 
the  insufficiency  of  his  strength  by  the  boldness  of 
his  courageous  heart."  But  when  he  got  as  far  as 
Corbeil,^  on  the  Seine,  his  infirmity  was  worse,  and 
even  his  great  spirit  had  to  yield.  To  advance 
further  was  only  possible  at  the  cost  of  his  life.  So 
he  stayed  at  Corbeil,  and  sent  forward  his  brother, 
Bedford,  and  the  Duke  of  Exeter,  with  the  bulk  of 
his  forces.  These  met  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and 
without  difficulty  raised  the  siege  of  Cosne. 

For  a  short  time  the  king's  condition  at  Corbeil 
took  a  turn  for  the  better  ;  but  after  a  few  days  his 
infirmity  grew  worse  again,  so  that  he  could  not  sit 
on  his  horse.  But  the  river  provided  an  easy  route. 
He  was  placed  in  a  barge  and  rowed  down  the  river 
towards  Bois  de  Vincennes.  At  Charentan,  he 
disembarked,  and  determined  not  to  approach  the 
capital  as  a  stricken  man.  With  incredible  deter- 
mination, he  mounted  his  horse,  and  rode  for  a  few 
paces,  when  the  terrible  pain  caused  by  his  position 
and  by  the  uneven  motion,  conquered  even  his 
resolution,  and  he  had  to  take  to  the  horse-litter 
again.  So  at  last  the  sad  cavalcade  reached  the 
castle  of  Vincennes,  about  9  August.  ^  And  now  for  the 
first  time  the  king  is  spoken  of  as  definitely  taking 

1  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  CCLXVI  ;   Waurin,  op.  cit.,  384. 

*  This  is  "  Elmham's  "  account.  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  CLXVI,  says 
Henry  got  as  far  as  Melun,  which  is  seven  miles  further  to  south- 
east of  Corbeil. 

^  Henry  was  at  Corbeil  as  late  as  6  August. 


1422]        THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  HENRY  V         279 

to  his  bed  :  "  there,  alas  !  he  entered  his  bed  of 
pain."i 

The  disease  went  from  bad  to  worse.  The  king 
lay  in  bed  at  Vincennes  for  nearly  three  weeks,  till 
he  died  on  31  August.  He  seemed  to  realise,  some 
considerable  time  before  the  end  came,  that  he 
would  not  recover.  During  this  last  sad  time,  he 
showed,  as  he  had  all  through  his  life,  the  greatness 
of  his  spirit.  For  though  only  thirty-five  years  of 
age,  having  just  attained  the  height  of  renown  and 
power,  he  was  now  to  be  cut  off,  before  he  could  see 
the  fruits  of  the  immense  sacrifices  he  had  made, 
of  the  great  schemes  he  had  planned,  and  had  so 
laboriously  perfected.  He  was  to  be  cut  off  too, 
away  from  his  own  country,  from  the  English  people 
he  knew  so  well,  and  without  the  chance  of  seeing 
even  the  son  that  had  just  been  born  to  him.  But 
there  is  no  indication  in  any  of  the  chroniclers  who 
wrote  about  him,  that  he  indulged  in  any  form  of 
self-pity.  He  calmly  made  all  the  arrangements 
possible  for  carrying  on  his  work,  and  for  the  govern- 
ment of  his  country  and  of  his  son.  These  arrange- 
ments completed,  he  turned  his  mind  to  religion  and 
prepared  for  the  next  world,  with  a  calmness  that 
was  undisturbed  to  the  last.  The  only  tears  he  shed, 
were  in  imploring  God's  mercy  ;  for  the  rest,  "  he 
armed  himself  with  faith  and  charity,  and  disposed 
himself  by  all  ways  and  means,  securely  to  wait  the 
advent  of  death."  ^     Yet  he  was  in  severe  physical 

'   "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  331.  «  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  332, 


280  HENRY  V  [1422 

distress  all  the  time ;  the  fever  and  the  dysentery  seem 
never  to  have  left  him,  so  that  at  his  death,  his  body, 
from  lack  of  nourishment,was  of  an  amazing  lightness.  ^ 

The  Duke  of  Bedford,  who  had  gone  on  in  Henry's 
place,  to  keep  tryst  with  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
before  Cosne  on  the  Loire,  easily  accomplished  his 
task,  and  having  seen  the  town  relieved,  began  his 
return  on  15  August  or  a  few  days  later.  ^  Bedford 
had  a  considerable  body  of  troops  with  him,  and 
was  forced  to  travel  slowly.  Accordingly  it  was  late 
in  the  month  before  he  heard  that  his  brother  Henry 
was  more  seriously  ill  than  ever.  On  receipt  of  this 
news,  the  Duke  at  once  left  his  troops,  and  accom- 
panied only  by  a  few  trusty  men,  rode  hastily  on  to 
Paris.  ^ 

The  Duke  arrived  just  in  time  to  receive  the  last 
instructions  of  his  brother.  The  king  was  accustomed 
regularly  to  express  himself  in  the  English  language. 
But  his  last  words  have  only  been  preserved  for  us 
in  the  Latin  transcription  of  "Elmham,"  and  in  the 
French  version  of  Monstrelet.  These  two  versions 
tally  in  very  many  respects,  although  the  French 
version  is  considerably  fuller.  On  the  last  night  of 
his  life,  31  August,  "  feeling  that  he  was  worn  out 
by   his   illness,"*  Henry   called   to   his   bedside   his 

^  Ibid.,  336,  "  extenuatum,  immo  exinanitum." 

2  G.  du  Fresne  de  Beaiicoiirt,  op.  cit.,  I,  53. 

'  Walsingham,  op.  cit.,  II,  384-5,  says  Bedford  heard  the  news 
at  Compi^gne.  It  is,  however,  iinhkely  that  he  can  have  gone  so 
far  out  of  the  way  from  Paris.  Waurin,  385,  mentions  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Troj'os. 

*  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  385. 


1422]        THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  HENRY  V         281 

brother,  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  his  uncle,  the  Duke  of 
Exeter,  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  and  other  counsellors 
to  the  number  of  seven  or  eight.  To  these  he  spoke  in 
"  a  firm  voice."  ^  First  he  announced  that  he  knew 
his  death  to  be  near.  "It  is  certain  that,  by  the 
good  wishes  of  our  Saviour,  to  whom  be  praise, 
honour,  and  thanks,  I  cannot,  according  to  the 
condition  of  all  flesh,  escape  the  death  that  now 
hangs  over  me.  Therefore  if  in  the  time  of  my 
reign,  I  have  ruled  otherwise  than  I  ought,  or  if  I 
have  done  any  injustice  to  anyone — as  I  believe  I 
have  not — I  humbly  ask  for  pardon.  For  the  good 
services,  rendered  to  me  especially  in  these  wars,  I 
give  thanks  to  you,  and  to  your  other  fellow-soldiers. 
For  these,  if  death  had  not  prevented  me,  I  had 
intended  to  have  awarded  to  each  worthy  rewards. 
I  exhort  you  to  continue  these  wars  till  peace  is 
gained.  It  was  not  ambitious  lust  for  dominion, 
nor  for  empty  glory,  nor  for  worldly  honour,  nor 
any  other  cause,  that  drew  me  to  these  wars,  but  only 
that  by  suing  for  my  just  title,  I  might  at  once  gain 
peace  and  my  own  rights.  And  before  the  wars 
were  begun,  I  was  fully  instructed  by  men  of  the 
holiest  life  and  the  wisest  counsel,  that  I  ought  and 
could  with  this  intention  begin  the  wars,  prosecute 
them,  and  justly  finish  them,  without  danger  to  my 
soul."  2 

Having    spoken    these    words    to    the    assembled 

1   "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  332. 
'^  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  332-3. 


282  HENRY  V  [1422 

company,  Henry  turned  to  his  noble  and  loyal  brother 
John,  Duke  of  Bedford,  on  whom  alone  now  he 
knew  he  could  rely  to  carry  on  the  king's  work. 
"  John,  fair  brother,  I  beseech  you,  by  all  the  loyalty 
and  love  you  have  ever  shown  towards  me,  that  you 
will  always  be  kind  and  faithful  to  the  fair  child 
Henry,  your  nephew."  Further  he  charged  John 
to  make  no  treaty  with  the  Dauphin,  except  one 
that  would  secure  Normandy  to  the  young  Henry. 
Next  he  expressed  a  wish  that  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
might  act  as  regent  in  the  kingdom  of  France  :  "I 
advise  you  to  give  it  to  him,  but  in  case  he  refuses, 
take  it  yourself."^  The  remaining  instructions  re- 
ferred to  the  government  of  England  (as  distinct 
from  France),  which  he  seems  to  have  entrusted  to 
his  other  brother,  who  was  not  present,  Humphrey, 
Duke  of  Gloucester.  2  And  he  commanded  that 
everyone  should  take  care  that  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
should  have  no  cause  to  quarrel  with  the  English, 
adding,  "  and  this  I  expressly  forbid  to  my  fair  brother, 
Humphrey  ;  for  if  it  happened,  which  God  forbid, 
that  there  should  be  any  bad  feeling  between  you 
and  him,  the  affairs  of  this  kingdom  which  are 
prospering  for  our  party,  might  be  greatly  damaged 
thereby."^  He  concluded  with  the  advice,  that  they 
should  keep  certain  great  prisoners,  especially  the 
Duke  of  Orleans,  in  the  power  of  England,  until  the 

»  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  CCLXVI. 

2  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  333. 

3  Monstrelet,  op.  cit..  CCLXVI  ;   Waurin,  op.  cit.,  386. 


1422]        THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  HENRY  V         283 

young  Henry  should  become  of  age  ;  "  but  as  for 
all  the  others,  do  as  it  seems  good  to  you."^ 

It  only  remained  to  draw  the  attention  of  his 
counsellors  to  his  will  and  its  codicils.  When  this 
was  done,  he  firmly  put  from  his  mind  all  mundane 
affairs,  and  in  front  of  his  weeping  friends  prepared 
himself  for  death.  ^  He  knew  that  this  must  be  near 
at  hand.  For  he  called  his  physicians  to  him,  and 
requested  them  to  tell  him  how  long,  in  their  opinion, 
he  had  yet  to  live.  At  first  they  put  off  telling  him, 
saying  that  "  it  was  still  in  the  power  of  God  to 
restore  him  to  health."  ^  But  the  king  would  not  be 
content  with  this  evasion,  and  requested  them 
again  to  speak  the  truth.  Then  the  physicians 
consulted  together,  and  finally,  one  coming  forward, 
knelt  beside  the  bed,  and  said  :  "  Sire,  think  upon 
your  case,  for  it  seems  to  us  that  except  by  the 
favour  of  God,  it  is  hardly  possible  that  you  live 
more  than  two  hours." 

The  king,  apparently  unmoved  by  these  words, 
merely  summoned  his  confessor  and  the  other 
ecclesiastics  of  his  household,  and  bade  them  recite 
the  seven  penitential  psalms  (vi.,  xxxii.,  xxxviii., 
li.,  cii.,  cxxx.,  cxliii.).  When  the  chaplains,  who 
were  probably  chanting  the  psalms,  reached  the 
verse,  "  Benigne  fac  ex  benevolentia  tua  Sioni,  aedi- 
fica    muros    Hierusalem "     (psalm    li.,    verse    18) — 

1  Ibid. 

2  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  333. 

*  Monstrelet,  op.  cit.,  CCLXV.T  ;  Waurin,  op.  cit.,  387. 


284  HENRY  V  [1422 

"  O  be  favourable  and  gracious  unto  Sion  :  build 
thou  the  walls  of  Jerusalem "  —  the  king  made 
them  stop,  and  said  aloud,  "  that  by  the  death 
he  was  now  expecting,  he  had  intended  after 
he  had  settled  the  kingdom  of  France  in  peace,  to 
go  and  conquer  Jerusalem,  if  it  had  been  the  pleasure 
of  his  Creator  to  let  him  live  his  term  of  years."  ^ 
This,  it  seems,  was  the  only  expression  of  regret 
which  he  allowed  to  escape  his  lips,  at  being  cut  off 
in  the  midst  of  his  work,  and  in  the  prime  of  his  life. 

Soon  after,  he  received  the  last  communion  and 
extreme  unction.  When  he  was  in  the  final  pangs, 
he  was  heard  to  say  the  words,  "  Thou  liest,  thou 
liest,  my  portion  is  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ," — 
as  if  he  were  firmly  addressing  an  evil  spirit.  ^  And 
again  as  he  gave  forth  the  last  gasps,  embracing  the 
crucifix  which  was  laid  on  his  breast,  he  said  in  a 
firm  voice :  "  Into  thy  hands.  Lord,  thou  hast 
redeemed  this  life."  With  these  words,  he  quietly 
met  his  death.  ^  The  day  is  always  given  as  31  August, 
but  in  reality  it  was  after  midnight,  between  two  and 
three  o'clock,  in  the  morning  of  the  next  day.* 

The  body  of  the  king  was  placed  entire,^  after 
embalming,  in  a  wooden  coffin,  which  was  placed  on 
a  funeral  car,  drawn  by  four  horses.  Upon  the 
coffin  was  placed  a  life-sized  effigy  of  the  king, 
clothed  with   the  royal   robes,    and   holding  in   the 

1  Ibid.  2  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  334. 

^  Ibid.     Cp.  Psalm  xxxi.  6.  *  Rymer,  Foedera,  X,  253. 

*  "  Elmliam,"  op.  cit.,  336,  expressly  says  none  of  the  entrails  was 
removed. 


1422]        THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  HENRY  V         285 

right  hand  the  sceptre,  in  the  left  hand  the  orb,  and 
on  its  head  the  crown.  The  king  of  Scots,  the  Duke 
of  Bedford,  the  Dukes  of  Burgundy  and  Exeter, 
followed  the  chariot  as  chief  mourners.  The  other 
nobles  came  behind.  The  procession  went  towards 
Rouen,  a  journey  of  several  days.  Day  and  night 
the  attendant  ecclesiastics  held  vigils,  said  masses, 
and  kept  all  the  religious  observances,  about  which 
the  late  king  himself  had  always  taken  such  care.  At 
night  the  coffin  rested  in  some  church,  in  which  the 
clergy  could  maintain  their  constant  watch.  Before 
Rouen  the  aldermen  and  important  burgesses  came 
out  to  meet  the  procession,  clad  in  black,  and  carry- 
ing lighted  tapers  in  their  hands.  As  the  body  lay 
in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  at  Rouen,  the  burgesses, 
as  long  as  the  masses  were  being  said,  stood  by  with 
their  lighted  tapers.  From  Rouen  the  funeral  pro- 
ceeded, by  Abbeville  to  Calais,  meeting  signs  of 
universal  grief  in  the  towns  by  the  way.  But  John 
of  Bedford  stayed  behind,  to  attend,  according  to 
his  brother's  last  orders,  to  the  critical  task  of 
governing  France  and  Normandy  :  a  task  to  which 
he  gave  up  the  remaining  thirteen  years  of  his 
strenuous  and  devoted  life.  Near  Calais  the  pro- 
cession was  met  by  the  queen,  who,  since  parting 
from  Henry  at  Senlis,  had  been  waiting  in  England 
till  summoned  by  the  news  of  her  husband's  death. 
From  Calais,  the  body  was  taken  to  England. 
The  citizens  of  London,  who  often  before  had  come 
out    to    welcome    their    favourite    victorious    king, 


286  HENRY  V  [1422 

had  now  an  opportunity  of  paying  their  last  respects 
to  his  body  as  it  was  borne  towards  Westminster. 
There,  after  due  rehgious  observances,  the  body  of 
king  Henry,  on  7  November,  ^  was  buried  amid  the 
tombs  of  his  ancestors. 

'  William  of  Worcester,  Annales,  759. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

THE  WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V 

Only  by  considering  the  condition  of  England  in 
the  previous  reign,  and  by  looking  at  English  history 
as  a  whole,  it  is  possible  fully  to  appreciate  the 
greatness  of  the  fifth  Henry's  work.  In  the  reign 
of  his  father  Henry  IV,  England  was  in  perhaps  its 
lowest  condition  in  the  Middle  Ages.  This  weakness 
could  be  seen  in  many  directions.  In  the  first  place, 
the  spirit  of  rebellion  was  abroad  in  the  land.  Owen 
Glendower  maintained  open  war  in  Wales  and  on  the 
border  of  England  and  Wales  for  eight  years.  The 
family  of  Percy  fought  two  pitched  battles,  of  con- 
siderable magnitude, — Shrewsbury  (1403)  and  Bram- 
ham  Moor  (1408) — against  the  king's  forces  ;  and  it 
is  doubtful  whether  Henry  IV  was  ever  completely 
obeyed  in  the  North  of  England.  In  the  primary 
work  of  government,  justice  and  police,  the  crown 
was  not  able  to  secure  the  localities  from  disorder 
and  practical  anarchy.  In  vain  was  the  law  against 
"  Livery  and  Maintenance "  strengthened  by  new 
legislation.  The  local  courts  were  frequently  in- 
timidated, juries  were  "  packed  "  and  bullied,  needy 
gentlemen,    disbanded    soldiers,    hardy    vagabonds, 

287 


288  HENRY  V 

swarmed  in  many  counties,  and  disorganised  the 
ordinary  life  of  the  country-people  ;  so  that  even 
the  courtly  poet  ventured  on  a  remonstrance  to  the 

crown. 

Now  in  good  feithe  I  pray  God  it  amende 
Lawe  is  nye  flamed  out  of  this  countree, 
For  fewe  ben  that  drede  it  to  offende, 
Correccioun  and  alle  this  is  longe  on  thee. 
Why  suffrest  thow  so  many  assemble  ? 
Of  armed  folke  welnye  in  every  shire, 
Party  is  made  to  venge  their  cruelle  ire.^ 

It  was  not  only  that  Henry  IV  could  not  control 
his  noblemen,  could  not  repress  all  the  disappointed 
claimants  to  the  throne,  could  not  police  the  tur- 
bulent districts  in  the  home  counties  and  on  the 
marches.  Worse  things  happened  in  Englishmen's 
dealings  abroad.  The  "  Narrow  Seas  "  were  unsafe. 
English  merchantmen  were  very  frequently  stopped 
and  plundered  by  alien  sailors.  When  these  "  pirates  " 
stopped  an  English  vessel,  the  regular  procedure 
was  for  the  captured  crew  to  be  bound  hand  and 
foot  and  flung  into  the  sea.  The  English  government 
had  no  means  to  meet  the  evil  of  piracy,  except  by 
diplomatic  representations  to  the  home  governments 
of  the  "  pirate  "  sailors,  to  Hamburg,  to  Lubcck,  to 
Holland  or  France.  No  royal  ships  of  England 
guarded  the  Narrow  Seas.  The  proud  claim  of  the 
English  king  to  be  "  Dominus  Maris  Angliae  "  was 
no  longer  upheld  or  put  forward.     The  only  warlike 

1  Hoccleve,  De  Regimine  Principum  (1410),  quoted  in  Wylie, 
Hist,  of  Eng.  under  Henry  IV,  III,  308. 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  289 

step  taken  to  check  the  evil  deeds  of  the  pirates  was 
for  the  king  to  issue  a  Hcence  to  the  aggrieved  English 
merchant  or  his  survivors,  to  prey  upon  the  shipping 
of  the  "  pirates'  "  countrymen,  and  to  plunder  them 
of  an  amount  of  goods  equivalent  to  what  the 
aggrieved  Englishmen  had  lost. 

While  the  Narrow  Seas  were  unsafe  for  English 
shipping,  the  coast  itself  of  England  was  not  immune 
from  the  warlike  exploits  of  our  enemies.  The  Isle 
of  Wight  was  twice  visited  by  Norman  and  Breton 
adventurers,  and  some  of  its  villages  were  plundered 
and  burnt.  One  expedition  landed  on  the  mainland 
itself,  and  burned  the  town  of  Plymouth.  The 
central  government  could  do  little  to  meet  the 
foreign  foe  ;  private  Englishmen,  the  inhabitants  of 
the  threatened  districts,  had  to  organise  themselves 
for  national  defence. 

No  wonder  England  was  little  thought  of  on  the 
Continent.  Burgundians  and  Armagnacs  could  fight 
against  each  other  in  France  ;  the  English  govern- 
ment, anxious  enough  to  profit  by  the  troubles  of 
the  French,  could  get  no  advantage  out  of  the 
dispute,  and  could  show  no  consistent  or  decisive 
policy.  One  glimpse  of  our  old  fame  seems  to  be 
seen  for  a  moment  when  the  Byzantine  emperor 
Manuel  Palgeologus  visited  England,  after  visiting 
other  European  powers,  to  engage  our  efforts  for  a 
common  crusade  against  the  advancing  Turk.  But 
Henry  IV,  eager  crusader  as  he  was,  could  give  no 
help  ;  at  the  last  he  had  to  be  content  with  a  death 
u 


290  HENRY  V 

in  the  Jerusalem  Chamber  at  Westminster,  in  place 
of  a  nobler  fate  against  the  foes  of  Christianity  and 
of  Europe. 

It  is  clear  then  that  English  power  had  sunk  low 
under  Henry  IV.  It  was  a  hard  task  for  him  to  keep 
the  throne  against  more  legitimate  princes,  and 
against  those  nobles  who,  having  made  him  king, 
thought  to  rule  the  kingdom.  "  He  who  obtains 
sovereignty  by  the  assistance  of  the  nobles  maintains 
himself  with  difficulty  .  .  .  because  he  finds  himself 
with  many  around  him  who  consider  themselves  his 
equal."  ^  The  wonder  then  is  not  that  England  sank 
low  in  the  reign  of  Henry  IV,  but  that  it  did  not 
sink  lower  still.  At  the  end  of  his  reign,  the  country 
was  in  a  more  settled  condition,  although  the  possi- 
bility of  revolution  at  the  hands  of  the  Lollards, 
or  of  the  house  of  March  was  still  imminent.  Yet 
Henry  IV  deserves  the  honour  accorded  by  the 
French  chronicler,  who  says  he  was  a  valiant  knight, 
and  vigorous  and  subtle  against  his  enemies.  ^  After 
some  fearful  storms,  and  continuous  rough  weather, 
he  manfully  steered  the  ship  of  state  till  he  died, 
and  a  greater  pilot  took  the  helm. 

Here  is  one  of  the  crises  in  English  history,  a 
point  at  which  pause  should  be  made  to  mark  a 
startling  contrast.  The  contrast  lies  in  the  difference 
between  the  reigns  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  Henries. 
In  the  time  of  the  father  are  found  weakness,  disorder, 

^  Macchiavelli,  Prince,  chap.  9. 
^  Monstrelet,  La  Chronique,  CI. 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  291 

insecurity  ;  at  iiome,  riots,  robberies,  rebellions, 
piracy  on  the  sea,  and  ineffectiveness  abroad.  In 
the  reign  of  the  son,  all  is  changed.  England  inverts 
the  story  of  the  Norman  Conquest,  English  armies 
cross  the  Channel,  conquer  Normandy,  conquer 
Paris,  lay  hands  on  the  throne  of  France.  The 
young  king  deals  on  equal  terms  with  the  powers 
of  Europe,  intervenes  decisively  in  the  General 
Council  of  the  Church,  helps  to  end  the  schism,  helps 
to  found  the  modern  papacy.  The  king  of  the 
Germans,  the  heir  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire, 
visits  England,  pleads  for  support,  gratefully  receives 
our  alliance.  At  home  all  goes  well ;  conspiracy  is 
strangled  at  the  outset,  religious  and  political  rebellion 
is  swiftly  crushed,  law  and  order  are  enforced  through- 
out the  country,  partly  by  the  personal  intervention 
of  the  king,  partly  by  the  able  officials  whom  he 
chose  and  trained  and  appointed  for  this  purpose. 
The  seas  no  longer  are  swept  by  foreign  pirates.  The 
royal  navy  is  refounded  ;  the  laws  and  the  organisa- 
tion of  the  service  are  thoroughly  set  up.  English 
merchants  once  more  can  freely  ply  over  the  sea. 
Thus  the  patriotic  poet  of  the  next  reign  could  look 
with  pride  and  pleasure  to  the  great  days  of  Henry 
V,  and  could  exhort  his  son  to  be  like  his  father. 

Cheryshe  marchandyse,  kepe  thamyralte 
That  we  bee  maysteres  of  the  narowe  see.^ 

Thus  in  the  reign  of  Henry  V,  in  ten  short  years, 
England  was  raised,  from  almost  its  lowest  point  to 

1  Libel  of  English  Policy,  158.  {Political  Poems,  II.) 


292  HENRY  V 

the  height  of  its  medieval  fame.  This  was  done  by 
a  king,  who  came  to  the  throne  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five,  and  gave  to  a  jaded,  disappointed  nation,  the 
ideals  of  peace  and  order  at  home,  of  adventure, 
government  and  justice  abroad.  He  educated  the 
whole  nation,  and  infused  it  with  the  spirit  of  his 
own  youth  and  energy.  Like  Alexander  of  Macedon 
he  died  young,  having  astonished  the  world.  He 
left  an  empire  that  would  crumble,  but  he  left  an 
ideal  that  could  never  die.  He  permanently  raised 
a  whole  people  on  to  another  plane  of  life. 

Henry  V  had  definite  aims,  and  he  kept  them 
consistently  before  him.  It  was  not  the  mere  desire 
for  glory  that  led  him  to  France,  nor  was  it  the 
influence  of  the  English  prelates,  as  Shakespeare 
would  have  it,  turning  the  king  to  courses  of  foreign 
conquest  as  a  diversion  from  the  agitation  for  dis- 
endowment  of  the  Church.  Everything  in  Henry's 
life  as  king  shows  that  he  believed  sincerely  in  the 
justice  of  his  cause.  The  determination  to  win  "  his 
rights,"  and  his  "  just  inheritance,"  so  freely  men- 
tioned in  his  diplomatic  correspondence,  was  no 
mere  figure  of  speech.  On  his  death-bed  he  still 
protested  his  belief  in  the  justice  of  his  claims,  "  of 
which  he  had  been  assured  by  many  holy  men." 
The  responsibility  for  the  war  must  rest  with  Henry 
himself.  He  was  too  strong-willed  to  be  turned  one 
way  or  another  by  the  prelates,  who  in  any  case 
seem  to  have  completely  sympathised  with  his  aims. 

Henry's   first   aim   was   to   reassert   the   greatness 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  293 

and  strength  of  England,  by  crossing  the  Narrow 
Seas,  and  winning  back  the  Duchy  of  Normandy  and 
the  County  of  Anjou,  the  ancient  heritage  of  the 
Plantagenet  family.  This  claim,  with  a  correspond- 
ing one  for  the  extension  of  English  Guienne  to  its 
old  limits,  stands  out  in  the  mass  of  diplomatic 
correspondence,  which  took  place  before  the  French 
War  began.  In  this  claim  for  the  old  English  depen- 
dencies, there  was  nothing  unjust  nor  overstrained. 
Normandy  was  a  cradle  of  the  English  race.  Anjou 
was  the  home  of  the  mighty  Plantagenets,  Henry's 
own  family  ;  Guienne  had  been  in  English  hands  for 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Duchy. 

The  claim  to  the  French  crown  was  on  a  different 
footing  from  that  to  Normandy  and  Anjou.  It  came 
from  the  somewhat  shadowy  claim  of  Edward  III, 
and  if  as  Edward  asserted,  the  French  crown 
could  descend  through  the  female  line,  then  Edmund, 
Earl  of  March,  had  a  better  claim  than  Henry  V. 
But  Henry  would  feel  that  as  he  had  succeeded, 
quite  lawfully,  to  the  English  rights  of  Edward  III, 
so  he  had  succeeded  also  to  the  French  rights.  But 
it  is  almost  certain  that  the  determination  to  win 
the  French  throne  grew  gradually.  Henry  could 
feel  that  the  madness  of  Charles  VI,  and  the  in- 
effectiveness of  the  Dauphinists  invited  him  to  take 
up  the  reins  of  government  in  the  distracted  land  of 
France.  If  France  was  to  be  won,  he  might  well 
feel  justified  in  winning  it,  for  the  formation  of  the 


294  HENRY  V 

great    Christian    and   imperial    power,    of   which    he 
dreamed. 

It  is  likely  that  Henry's  designs  grew  as  the 
success  of  his  arms  increased.  He  began  by  deter- 
mining to  win  Normandy  and  Anjou  ;  he  went  on 
to  win  the  crown  of  France  ;  when  that  was  secured, 
he  had  the  idea  of  making  a  great  crusade,  with  the 
combined  forces  of  his  English  and  French  realms. 
For  the  Turk  was  ever  advancing  up  the  Danube. 
Henry  IV  had  fought  against  the  infidel  as  a  young 
man,  and  had  meant  as  king  to  lead  a  crusade.  His 
son,  warlike,  chivalrous  and  pious,  a  reader  of 
history,  an  admirer  of  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  ^  aimed 
in  more  prosperous  circumstances  at  achieving  the 
desire  of  his  father.  In  1396  king  Sigismund  had 
been  defeated  at  the  disastrous  battle  of  Nicopolis 
in  Bulgaria,  when  the  Turks  had  broken  the 
forces  of  German  Christendom.  The  younger 
Henry,  a  friend  of  the  same  Sigismund,  might 
reasonably  hope  to  repair  the  defeat.  He  had 
helped  to  heal  the  papal  schism.  He  had 
conquered  half  France.  When  he  died  he  seemed 
not  far  off  the  point  at  which  he  could  take  up  the 
work  of  leading  the  greater  part  of  western  Europe 
with  king  Sigismund  on  crusade.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  his  last  words  were  sincere,  and  express  the  real 
tragedy,  the  great  disappointment  of  his  life  :    "I 

^  See  Nicolas,  Proc.  of  Privy  Council,  III,  xxv.,  respecting  the 
"  Chronicles  of  Jerusalem  "  and  the  "  Voyage  of  Godfrey  of 
Boulogne,"  borrowed  by  Henry  V. 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  295 

had  intended,  after  settling  the  kingdom  of  France 
in  peace,  to  go  and  conquer  Jerusalem." '^ 

It  is  unlikely  that  he  could  ever  have  conquered 
the  whole  of  France.  It  is  not  certain  that  he  ever 
meant  to  do  so.  But  it  was  not  inconceivable  that 
English  power  should  extend  as  far  south  as  the 
Loire,  and  Henry  may  have  meant  to  be  content 
with  this.  A  great  watershed  runs  across  France, 
roughly,  from  east  to  west.  South  of  this,  the  rivers 
run  towards  the  Mediterranean  ;  north,  the  rivers 
run  towards  the  English  Channel ;  the  north  of 
France  looks  towards  England.  Racially  the  northern 
Frenchman  is  perhaps  more  akin  to  the  English 
than  he  is  to  the  men  of  southern  France.  So  the 
union  of  north  France  with  England  was  not  incon- 
ceivable. Had  Henry  been  given  a  few  more  years 
to  complete  his  work,  France  would  have  been 
divided  into  three  portions,  and  might  have  remained 
divided  for  some  considerable  space  of  time,  but  not 
indefinitely.  In  the  first  place,  there  would  have 
been  the  French  kingdom  of  Henry  V — that  is  to  say, 
Normandy,  Maine,  Anjou,  and  the  Isle  of  France,  to 
the  north  of  the  Loire,  with  centres  at  Paris  and 
Rouen,  and  including  Guienne  in  the  south-west  of 
France.  The  second  great  division  would  have  been 
the  realm  of  the  "  Dauphin,"  Charles  VII, — that 
portion  of  France  which  stood  by  the  line  of  the 

1  See  above,  284.  Cp.  the  report  of  Gilbert  de  Lannoy,  respecting 
the  ports  of  Egypt  and  Syria.  This  was  compiled  at  the  orders  of 
H™ry  V.  Stubbs,  Const.  Hist.,  III.  0.^.  ;  Archrcolof/ia,  XXI,  312-48, 
(Euvres  de  O.  Lannoy.  p.  51  ff.  (Academie  de  Belgique). 


296  HENRY  V 

Valois  kings,  and  which  probably  England  could 
never  have  conquered.  The  realm  of  Charles  VII, 
as  it  stood  at  the  death  of  Henry  V,  was  all  France 
south  of  the  Loire,  excluding  Guienne  and  Burgundy. 
Charles'  capital  was  at  Bourges  ;  when  Henry  died, 
Charles  also  held  Orleans  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Loire  and  some  strongholds  in  Anjou,  but  these 
were  not  as  secure  as  the  rest  of  his  domains 
to  the  south.  The  third  great  division  of  France, 
which  would  have  resulted  from  the  continu- 
ation of  Henry  V's  power,  was  the  dominions 
of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  including  Flanders, 
Artois,  and  the  old  Duchy  and  County  of 
Burgundy.  In  addition  there  would  have  been 
the  outlying  Duchy  of  Brittany,  dependent  on  the 
English  power.  The  English  dominion  in  France, 
the  southern  kingdom  of  Charles  VII,  and  the 
dominion  of  Burgundy,  would  have  established  a 
balance  of  power,  which  might  have  perpetuated  the 
rule  of  the  English.  In  Burgundy  would  have  been 
revived  the  old  "  Middle  Kingdom,"  which  Charles 
the  Bold  dreamed  of  again,  forty  years  later.  With 
this  dazzling  prospect  in  front  of  Philip  of  Burgundy, 
his  secession  from  the  English  (which  happened 
when  their  power  began  to  fail  in  1435),  and  his 
alliance  with  Charles  VII,  might  never  have  taken 
place. 

Very  little  is  to  be  gained  by  speculating  on  what 
might  have  been.  The  only  reason  for  doing  so  now, 
is  to  form  a  fair  judgment  of  the  abilities  of  Henry  V. 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  297 

In  his  great  design  on  France,  was  he  attempting  too 
much  ?  Was  he  overreaching  himself,  and  allowing 
his  great  ideas  to  take  him  beyond  the  bounds  of 
possibility  ?  The  answer  is  no.  If  he  had  lived,  and 
had  remained  satisfied  (he  could  hardly  do  other- 
wise) with  a  French  dominion  north  of  the  Loire  as 
above  described,  then  the  realm  of  Charles  VII,  and 
the  "  Middle  Kingdom  "  of  Burgundy,  would  have 
balanced  each  other.  Nor  would  it  necessarily  have 
happened  that  England  would  have  been  over- 
shadowed by  her  French  dominion.  France  north 
of  the  Loire  was  perhaps  not  too  much  for  England 
to  manage,  it  was  not  likely  to  win  England  over  to 
French  ways  or  manners,  not  likely  to  transfer  the 
centre  of  English  power  from  London  to  Paris. 
Historians  who  take  the  view  that  England  would 
have  been  sacrificed  to  Lancastrian  France,  forget 
that  the  Lancastrian  power — apart  from  Guienne — 
would  have  stopped  at  the  Loire. 


The  personal  qualities  of  Henry  V  as  king  were 
such  as  to  endear  him  to  all  his  subjects,  and  to 
make  him  a  popular  character  in  history.  His  most 
notable  quality  was  justice.  This  comes  out  in  the 
contemporary  chronicles  that  deal  with  him,  both 
English  and  French.  No  better  tribute  could  be 
paid  to  him  than  that  of  the  French  historian, 
Juvenal  des  Ursins,  who  had  no  love  for  the  English  : 
"  The  said  king  in  his  time,  at  least  since  he  came 


298  HENRY  V 

into  France,  had  been  of  a  high  and  great  courage, 
vaUant  in  arms,  prudent,  sage,  and  a  great  Justicier, 
who,  without  exception  of  persons,  did  as  good 
justice  to  httle  as  to  great  persons,  according  to  the 
needs  of  the  case.  He  was  feared  and  reverenced  by 
all  his  relatives,  subjects  and  neighbours."  ^  In  the 
same  way  the  modern  Frenchman  carefully  sifting 
all  the  evidence,  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  Henry 
was  a  man,  "  severe  and  hard,  but  one  who  kept 
his  word."  2  When  he  gave  terms  to  an  enemy, 
he  scrupulously  kept  them ;  when  he  confirmed 
a  conquered  town's  liberties,  he  never  infringed 
them.  If  he  severely  punished  breaches  of  his  laws 
on  the  part  of  the  conquered  French,  he  was  equally 
severe  in  dealing  with  his  own  soldiers  ;  on  all  the 
campaigns,  in  the  year  of  Agincourt,  in  the  conquest 
of  Normandy,  in  the  final  marches,  plundering  and 
stealing  by  his  soldiers  were  punished  by  death.  So 
that  although  the  straitened  finances  of  the  king 
prevented  the  soldiers  often  from  getting  their 
legitimate  wages,  they  were  not  able  to  make  this  up 
by  indiscriminate  plunder.  They,  indeed,  had  some 
ground  for  complaining  of  the  hard  conditions  of 
their  service  :  no  pay,  and  not  to  be  allowed  to 
plunder.^ 

The  justice  of  the  king,  his  strict  keeping  of  his 
word,    made    his    rule   tolerable    to    the    conquered 

1  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  Hist,  de  Charles  VI,  395. 
-  Lavisse,  Histoii-e.  de  France,  IV,  375. 
^  Ramsay,  Lancaster  and  York,  I,  320. 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  299 

people,  and  gave  the  necessary  condition  for  the 
permanence  of  his  work.  In  the  later  stages  of  the 
French  war,  between  1430  and  14)50,  the  English 
departed  from  the  good  rule  that  Henry  V  had  laid 
down.  They  took  to  plundering,  they  alienated  the 
whole  people  of  Normandy,  and  so  they  quickly  lost 
France. 

Next  to  his  sense  of  justice,  the  most  conspicuous 
quality  of  Henry  V  is  his  industry.  For  the  adminis- 
tration of  government  in  England,  for  the  organisa- 
tion of  his  campaigns  abroad,  and  for  the  settle- 
ment of  his  conquests,  he  had  to  rely  for  the  most 
part  on  himself  alone.  While  in  other  reigns,  before 
and  after  Henry  V,  mention  is  made  in  all  the 
chronicles  of  many  notable  Englishmen,  in  this 
reign  few  are  mentioned  beyond  Henry  V  himself. 
It  was  the  king  himself  who  dealt  with  the  Lollards  ; 
it  was  the  king  who  made  the  great  progresses 
throughout  the  country,  to  administer  law  and 
justice  ;  it  was  the  king  who  received  French  am- 
bassadors, and  who  drew  up  the  English  dispatches. 
When  war  was  imminent,  it  was  the  king  who  went 
from  place  to  place,  seeing  to  the  musters  of  soldiers, 
to  the  building  of  ships,  to  the  collection  of  provisions. 
When  the  war  was  actually  going  on,  it  was  the  king 
to  whom  everything  was  immediately  referred ; 
councils  of  war  make  little  figure,  the  king  makes 
plans,  receives  envoys,  gives  out  unalterable  decisions. 
When  it  was  reported  to  him  on  the  march,  in  1415, 
towards  Calais  that  the  French  blocked  the  way  and 


300  HENRY  V 

that  the  rivers  seemed  impassable,  and  when  the 
chiefs  of  the  army  asked  where  should  the  army 
march  now  :  "  straight  to  Calais,"  said  the  king, 
and  no  one  seems  to  have  remonstrated.  As  he  was 
willing  to  shoulder  all  the  responsibility,  his  whole 
army  was  ready  to  follow  him  in  serene  confidence. 
That  one  man  was  able  to  conduct  the  affairs 
of  England,  to  make  the  most  tremendous  deci- 
sions, to  face  the  most  fearful  risks,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  find  leisure  for  all  the  thousand 
and  one  details  of  army  organisation,  and  for 
the  establishment  of  a  new  government  in  a  con- 
quered country,  is  a  marvellous  thing.  Meanwhile, 
he  was  training  up  men  to  succeed  him.  It  is  here 
that  other  great  men  have  failed  ;  Frederick  the 
Great  and  Napoleon  were  wonderful  masters  both  of 
grand  designs  and  of  detail.  But  everything  was  so 
centred  in  them,  that  when  they  died,  there  was  no 
one  to  carry  on  their  work.  Henry  V  was  different ; 
like  Gustavus  Adolphus,  though  he  died  prematurely, 
he  left  good  men,  who  knew  the  master's  mind,  and 
were  already  skilled  in  the  master's  methods.  The 
general  plan  which  he  pursued  in  the  conquest  of 
Normandy,  from  1417  to  1419,  was  to  detach  rela- 
tively large  divisions  from  his  army,  and  to  put  them 
under  his  captains  as  independent  commands.  Thus 
men  were  trained  to  responsibility  in  arms,  men  like 
Thomas  de  Montacute,  Earl  of  Salisbury,  William  de 
la  Pole,  Earl  of  Suffolk,  Richard  Beauchamp,  Eari  of 
Warwick,  Sir  John  Fastolf,  and  many  others  who  figure 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  301 

so  prominently  in  tiie  later  ''  wars  oi'  the  English  in 
France."  The  greatest  of  all  the  satellites  of  the  king, 
John,  Duke  of  Bedford,  was  carefully  schooled  by 
his  brother  for  the  great  work  of  vicegerency. 
John  was  first  made  administrator  of  England  in 
the  king's  absences,  then  he  was  brought  over  to 
France  in  the  later  campaigns,  to  study  the  king's 
methods  of  war  and  government  there.  So  that 
when  his  brother  died,  John  was  able  to  take  up  the 
great  task  where  the  king  laid  it  down.  In  perform- 
ance of  this  trust,  John  of  Bedford  developed  heroic 
qualities,  worthy  of  his  great  brother.  So  that  when, 
in  1435,  he  died,  worn  out  by  the  immense  task  of 
fighting  and  administration  in  France,  and  of  super- 
vising the  ways  of  government  in  England,  he  had 
done  something  which  no  one  afterwards  succeeded 
In  doing.  He  had  governed  justly  like  his  brother,  he 
had  developed  commerce  and  education,  had  made  a 
real  thing  of  the  "  Lancastrian  experiment "  in 
Normandy.  The  influence  of  Henry  V  upon  John, 
Duke  of  Bedford,  is  clear.  The  same  influence  was 
directed  upon  his  second  brother,  Humphrey  of 
Gloucester,  successfully  in  the  king's  lifetime.  Un- 
fortunately the  death  of  the  king  left  the  way  open 
to  the  "  Good  Duke's  "  self-will  and  vices. 

King  Henry  V,  in  spite  of  his  dashing  spirit,  had  a 
coolness  and  a  prudence  not  often  found  in  the  most 
typical  of  medieval  knights.  In  this  respect,  he  was 
greatly  the  superior  of  Edward  III,  whose  weakness 
as  an  administrator  and  whose  lack  of  forethought 


302  HENRY  V 

for  posterity  are  defects  not  compensated  by  his 
undoubted  soldierly  qualities.  Although  king  Henry 
lived  a  life  of  extraordinary  activity,  he  never  lost 
sight  of  the  future,  both  in  regard  to  his  own  soul 
and  to  the  family  he  was  to  leave  behind.  Thus 
when  cut  off  in  the  flower  of  his  age  at  Vincennes,  he 
was  able  to  meet  death  equably,  and  to  leave  his 
temporal  affairs  carefully  disposed.  His  "  political 
testament "  provided  for  all  emergencies,  for  the 
government  of  England,  for  the  government  of  France, 
how  to  deal  with  the  conquered  Duke  of  Orleans,  how 
great  concessions  might  be  made  to  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy.  So  on  the  king's  death,  his  work  went  on, 
not  so  successfully,  but  without  any  serious  break — 
a  condition  of  affairs  which  has  seldom  followed  on 
the  death  of  a  great  conqueror. 

The  king's  piety  was  great,  and  throughout  his 
strenuous  career  he  went  always  for  relief  to  the 
consolations  of  religion.  His  first  night  as  king  was 
spent  in  conversation  and  confession  with  a  holy 
man  at  Westminster.  He  was  himself  a  patron  of 
pious  foundations,  and  the  founder  of  religious 
colleges  at  Sion  and  Sheen.  ^  Like  many  great 
soldiers,  he  had  a  sincere  faith,  and  a  strong  devotional 
faculty  ;  his  first  act  on  entering  a  conquered  town 
was  to  go  to  the  chief  church,  to  render  thanks  for 
his  successes.  Monks  were  included  with  women  and 
children,  as  the  classes  with  whom  his  soldiers  must 

1  Ramsay,  Lancaster  and  York,  I,  307-8.  for  a  list  of  Henry's 
pious  benefactions.    Also  Wylie,  Reign  of  Hcncry  F,  chap.  xv. 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  303 

not  interfere.  All  who  broke  this  rule  received  no 
mercy  at  the  king's  hands.  But  in  his  attitude  to 
religion,  he  was  less  bigoted  than  the  men  of  his 
time.  If  as  prince,  he  was  present  at  the  burning 
of  the  heretic  Badby,  he  at  least  had  the  ashes 
raked  away,  and  offered  the  man  his  life.  The  alien 
priories  in  England  had  no  chance  of  helping  their 
friends  in  France.  Their  revenues  were  put  under  a 
royal  trustee  during  the  war,  and  were  administered 
at  the  king's  orders.  The  Lollards,  once  their 
political  power  was  thoroughly  broken,  were  left  for 
the  most  part  unmolested,  provided  they  rigorously 
kept  away  from  political  conspiracy.  Indeed,  the 
king  was  considered  by  strong  Churchmen  to  be  too 
lax  in  his  treatment  of  heretics,  and  he  incurred 
reproof  for  his  tolerance.  ^ 

The  French  people  soon  discovered  the  piety  of 
Henry  V,  and  it  is  said  that  when  he  was  cam- 
paigning in  a  district,  the  rustics  used  to  shave  their 
heads  and  wear  clerical  clothes,  because  of  the 
respectful  treatment  which  clerics  received.^  When 
the  king  was  besieging  Caen  in  1417,  he  ordered  his 
artillery-men  to  take  care  to  spare  the  Church  of 
St.  Stephen,  within  the  walls.  At  the  siege  of  Meaux, 
when  Easter  came  round,  he  relaxed  his  activity  and 
gave  the  besieged  a  few  days'  respite,^  just  as  at  the 
siege  of  Rouen  he  provided  a  Christmas  dinner  for  the 

1  Stubbs,  Cotiiiitutional  Hist.,  Ill,  76,  note  1. 
^  Walsinghani,  Hist.  Anglicana,  II,  322-3. 
3  "Elmham."  325. 


304  HENRY  V 

miserable  inhabitants  who  had  been  ejected  from 
the  city.  Nevertheless  Henry  did  not  let  his  great 
respect  for  the  clergy  interfere  with  the  prosecution 
of  his  plans.  When  the  Market-place  of  Meaux 
capitulated,  the  Bishop  of  Meaux  was  among  the 
captives.  He  was  too  important  a  man  and  too 
strongly  opposed  to  the  English  to  be  left  free.  So 
he  remained  a  prisoner  in  England,  and  died  during 
the  period  of  his  captivity.  ^ 

The  tradition  left  in  the  popular  mind  is  that 
Henry  was  pei'sonally  accessible  to  his  subjects  in 
general  and  to  his  soldiers.  In  a  later  age  he  is 
portrayed  in  the  popular  drama,  by  Dekker,  as  moving 
freely  about  London,  well  known  by  the  merchants 
and  apprentices,  and  himself  familiar  with  them.^ 
But  history  shows  that  the  king  had  a  proper  con- 
ception of  his  own  dignity,  and  that  he  had  a  certain 
aloofness,  without  which  perhaps  he  could  not  have 
maintained  his  attitude  of  strict  impartiality.  He 
had  no  favourites,  and  no  confidants  ;  he  hid  his 
plans  even  from  his  intimate  friends.^ 

As  a  statesman  he  must  be  judged  chiefly  by  his 
administration  in  France.    In  spite  of  the  unfortunate 

'-  Ibid.,  327.  Cp.  also  the  relations  between  Henry  V  and 
St.  Vincent  Ferrer,  who  came  to  the  English  camp  before  Rouen  in 
1418  and  preached  a  sermon  against  the  king.  But  Henry  rebuked 
St.  Vincent  and  converted  him  to  believe  in  the  justice  of  the 
English  cause.     Kingsford,  First  English  Life,  130-2. 

*  The  Shoemaker's  Holiday,  by  Thomas  Dekker.  published  in 
1600. 

•  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.  (under  1417). 


AVORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V     ;305 

close  of  the  wars  of  the  Enghsh  in  France,  in  spite  of 
the  ruin  in  Henry  VI' s  reign,  the  work  of  Henry  V 
was  a  wonderful  achievement.  Compared  with  the 
conquests  of  Edward  III,  Henry's  conquests  had  a 
marked  durability.  By  the  Treaty  of  Bretigny  (or 
Calais)  in  1360,  Edward  III  gained  notable  accessions 
for  England  in  France.  But  they  were  almost  all 
lost  (except  Calais)  within  ten  years.  The  conquests 
of  Henry  V  endured  for  nearly  thirty  years.  This  is 
all  the  more  wonderful  when  it  is  remembered  how 
meagre  were  the  resources,  how  few  the  numbers, 
with  which  the  French  conquests  had  to  be  defended 
after  Henry  V's  death.  "  The  wonder  is  not  that 
the  English  were  driven  out  of  France,  but  that 
they  were  driven  so  slowly."  ^  Indeed  the  Lancastrian 
dominion  in  France,  "la  France  Anglaise"^  as 
French  historians  frankly  call  it,  would  never  have 
lasted  so  long,  but  for  the  good  organisation  which 
Henry  V  had  introduced  into  his  conquests,  and  the 
excellent  condition  in  which  he  left  English  affairs 
at  his  death. 

This  condition  of  English  power  can  be  seen  at  a 
glance,  on  looking  at  a  political  map  of  France  in 
1422.  The  English  power  did  not  completely  cover 
all  France  to  the  north  of  the  Loire  ;  strictly  speaking, 
the  English  held  a  triangle  of  territory,  of  which  the 
base  was  the  north  coast  of  France,  from  Calais  to 
Avranches  ;    the  apex  was  at  Paris.     From  Paris  to 

^  Anatole  France,  Vie  de  Jeanne  d'Arc,  xlviii. 
^  B.  Zellc-r,  Ln  France  Anglaise  (PariSj  1886). 


306  HENRY  V 

Calais,  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  Avranches,  on  the 
other,  the  country  was  in  the  hands  of  English 
garrisons,  who  held  the  small  towns  as  fortresses. 
At  either  end  of  the  triangle's  base,  the  Enghsh  power 
was  secured  by  alliances,  with  Brittany  on  the  west,  ^ 
and  with  Burgundy-Flanders  on  the  east.  Beyond 
the  limits  of  this  triangle,  the  English  held  some 
outlying  positions,  especially  in  Anjou,  which 
threatened  the  Dauphin's  kingdom  south  of  the 
Loire.  But  what  chiefly  threatened  the  "  king  of 
Bourges "  was  Guienne,  the  south-western  duchy 
of  the  English  kings,  with  its  strong  line  of  border 
fortresses,  Dax,  St.  Sever,  La  Reole,  Libourne, 
Blaye,  Fronsac.  From  Guienne  an  English  expe- 
dition might  easily  move  north-eastwards,  to  co- 
operate with  another  English  army  operating  from 
Paris.  On  his  east  side  the  Dauphin  was  threatened 
by  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  whose  domains  stretched 
down  to  the  valley  of  the  Rhone.  Thus  although  the 
Dauphin's  sphere  had  the  advantage  of  being  very 
compact,  and  of  being  on  "  inner  lines  "  as  against 
the  encircling  enemy,  yet  concentration  of  attack 
was  very  difficult  for  him,  owing  to  the  number  of 
points  from  which  the  English  might  make  attacks. 

But  it  was  not  merely  from  a  strategical  point  of 
view  that  Henry  V  left  the  English  power  in  France 
favourably  situated.  He  had  taken  care  to  organise 
it  administratively.     With  regard  to  the  kingdom  of 

^  The  Duke  of  J3rittany  was  a  very  doubtful  ally,  but  Henry  V, 
while  ho  lived,  prevented  him  from  going  over  to  the  French  side. 


MAP    OF    FRANCE 


m 


London;  Constnlile  &C?L*' 


o 


c 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  307 

France  and  the  Duchy  of  Normandy,  the  policy  of 
Henry  V  was  to  maintain  simply  the  constitutions, 
laws  and  customs  which  had  existed  under  the 
French  kings,  his  predecessors.  Thus  at  Paris  the 
royal  council  sat  as  usual,  the  Estates-General  were 
summoned  for  legislation  (for  instance,  to  enact  the 
Treaty  of  Troyes),  and  the  Parlement  sat  for  purposes 
of  justice.  The  same  system  was  pursued  in  Nor- 
mandy ;  the  Duke's  Council  and  Exchequer  had 
their  seat  at  Rouen,  and  the  Estates  of  Normandy 
were  summoned  for  legislation.  The  highest  positions, 
especially  military,  were  as  a  rule  naturally  given  to 
Englishmen,  but  confiscations  of  property  were  rare, 
the  charters  of  towns  were  confirmed,  the  monasteries 
and  parochial  clergy  were  not  interfered  with.^  The 
highest  ecclesiastical  offices  were  not  left  entirely 
free,  because  for  the  most  part  the  high  dignitaries, 
unlike  the  more  humble  clergymen,  refused  to  accept 
the  English  rule.  In  Paris,  during  the  lifetime  of 
Henry  V,  practically  no  changes  were  made  in  the 
system  of  government  or  of  property.  ^  In  Normandy 
that  part  of  the  population  (that  is,  the  bulk  of  the 
people)  which  accepted  king  Henry's  rule,  was  left 
undisturbed.  The  towns  had  their  municipal  privileges 
confirmed  ;  the  rural  classes  were  left  in  their  old 
system   of  land-tenure.     But   several   thousands   of 

^  Rynier,  Foedrra,  IX.  672,  gives  the  naniea  of  about  150 
chaplains  and  curates  who  submitted  early  in  1419.  See  also 
Rymer,  Foedera,  IX,  684  ff.,  for  confirination  of  property  of 
monasteries. 

*  See  A.  Longnon,  Paris  soua  la  domination  Anglaise. 


308  HENRY  V 

Normans  preferred  to  leave  their  homes  rather  than 
accept  king  Henry's  rule.^ 

The  same  care  and  industry  which  Henry  V 
showed  in  his  administration  in  England  are  seen 
also  in  his  conquered  territory.  Thus  one  of  his 
earliest  acts  was  to  ordain  "  in  our  Duchy  of  Nor- 
mandy," on  the  advice  of  his  Great  Council,  that 
there  should  be  only  one  sort  of  weights  and  measures 
throughout  the  Duchy.  Previously  there  were 
diverse  systems  of  weights  and  measures,  varying 
not  merely  from  district  to  district,  but  from  year  to 
year  !  ^  In  the  same  way,  on  the  advice  of  the  Council 
at  Rouen,  the  king  ordained  that  the  money  issued 
and  circulating  in  Normandy  should  be  the  same  as 
before  his  conquest  ;  that  no  debasement  or  diminu- 
tion of  the  weight  would  be  allowed  ;  and  that  the 
only  difference  should  be  that  in  the  middle  of 
the  Cross  stamped  on  one  side,  the  letter  H.  (for 
Henricus)  should  also  appear. ^  Six  months  later, 
January,  1420,  we  find  Henry  issuing  another 
beneficial  ordinance,  to  prohibit  the  currency  through- 
out the  Duchy  of  debased  and  imperfect  foreign 
moneys,  which  passed  so  frequently  and  so  far  in  the 
Middle  Ages.  ^  The  taxation  of  the  Duchy,  likewise  on 
the  advice  of  the  Council  at  Rouen,  was  also  imposed 
on  the  old  scale,  and  in  the  same  varieties  as  formerly.^ 
Indeed  the  only  change  which  Henry  made  in  the 

^  Puiseux,  U Eraig ration  Normande. 

«  R5Tncr,  Foedera,  IX,  691.  -  Ibid.,  798. 

*  Ibid.,  849.  6  /6ij.,  804. 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  ao9 

system  of  taxation  in  Normandy  was  to  reduce  the 
amount  of  the  gabelle,  the  tax  upon  salt. 

The  chief  officials  of  course  were  English.  Master 
Philip  Morgan,  one  of  the  king's  best  diplomatists,  was 
Chancellor  of  Normandy,^  William  de  la  Pole,  Earl 
of  Suffolk,  was  Admiral,  2  Geoffrey  Alington  was 
Treasurer.  3  But  a  Norman  gentleman,  as  it  seems, 
was  appointed  to  the  highly  important,  if  not  highly 
dignified  office  of  "  hunter  of  wolves."  The  name  of 
this  gentleman  was  Raoul  de  Corday,  and  the  precise 
instructions  given  to  him  to  organise  hunts  after 
wolves  in  the  pastoral  regions  of  Normandy,  are 
another  instance  of  the  care  taken  by  Henry  for  the 
good  government  of  his  new  Duchy.  ^ 

Of  his  military  greatness,  which  is  well  known,  there 
is  less  necessity  to  speak.  The  victory  of  Agincourt 
permanently  established  his  reputation  as  a  general, 
and  made  him  in  his  time  the  most  famous  soldier  in 
Europe.  He  was  great  both  in  strategy  and  tactics. 
His  plans  of  campaign  were  original  and  compre- 
hensive, as  may  be  seen  both  from  his  systematic 
conquest  of  Normandy  in  1417-19,  and  also  by  his 
great  circular  march  outside  and  round  the  Isle  of 
France,  in  the  last  year  of  his  life.  Apart  from  his 
general  plans  of  campaign,  he  was  also  excellent  on 
the  field  of  battle,  arranging  his  small  forces  with 
great  success,  and  being  especially  distinguished 
from  most  leaders  of  the  Middle  Ages  by  the  skill 

1  Ibid.,  632.  2  ibid^^  753.  3  j^i^^    865. 

*  Ibid.,  862.  Cp.  ibid.,  755  for  the  office  of  wolf-hunter  round 
Caux. 


310  HENRY  V 

with  which  he  used  the  physical  features  of  the 
ground  where  his  army  had  to  fight.  In  siege-works 
he  may  be  said  to  stand  first  among  so  many  English 
kings  who,  like  Richard  I  and  Edward  III,  were 
famous  for  their  sieges.  The  war  in  France  after 
Agincourt  was  peculiarly  a  war  of  sieges.  King 
Henry  was  ready  enough  for  battles  which  are  a 
quicker  way  of  deciding  matters  than  sieges,  but  the 
French  would  never  meet  him  again  in  the  open 
field.  ^  Thus  the  years  1417-22  were  largely  a 
succession  of  sieges.  In  such  undertakings,  warfare  in 
the  Middle  Ages  reached  its  highest  development.  But 
even  here  Henry  found  new  things  to  invent,  new 
developments  to  make.  Towers,  mines,  bridges,  all 
were  material  for  the  exercise  of  his  ingenuity.  So 
strong  was  his  interest  in  the  art  of  siege-work,  that 
he  carried  out  experiments  even  when  the  need  of 
them  seemed  gone.  For  the  siege  of  Meaux  in  1421-2, 
he  invented  a  floating  tower,  which  was  to  drift  down 
the  Marne  past  the  walls  of  the  fortified  Market- 
place. Projecting  from  the  top  of  this  floating  tower 
was  a  gangway,  by  which  a  party  of  the  besieging 
soldiers  could  pass  on  to  the  river- wall  of  the  Market- 
place. But  the  garrison  surrendered  before  this  new 
kind  of  siege-engine  could  be  used.  Henry,  however, 
was  not  to  be  deterred  from  completing  an  invention. 
After  the  English  army  had  taken  possession  of  the 
Market-place,  he  had  the  tower  completed,  floated 

*  e.g.   The  Dauphin  refused  to  meet  Henry,  whose  army,  numeri- 
cally, seems  to  have  been  much  the  weaker,  before  Chartres  in  1421. 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  311 

down  the  river,  and  the  possibihty  proved  of  the 
soldiers  inside  forcing  their  way  on  to  the  walls.  ^ 
For  such  a  captain  as  Henry,  sieges  might  be  long, 
but  they  were  never  unsuccessful.  For  with  his 
brilliant  resourcefulness  he  combined  an  unswerving 
determination  and  tenacity.  It  was  said  of  him  that 
he  never  left  a  siege  unfinished,  and  that  all  the 
garrisons  came  to  realise  this,  and  so  anticipated 
forcible  capture  by  capitulation.  ^ 

All  his  fortune  and  success  in  battle  were  possible 
only  through  his  intense  personal  application  and 
energy.  As  the  military,  judicial  and  administrative 
head  of  his  kingdom,  he  had  everything  to  think  of 
at  the  same  time.  His  contemporaries  noted  with 
admiration  how  the  king's  orderly  mind  grasped 
everything,  and  provided  for  all  emergencies,  both 
great  and  small.  In  the  quaint  words  of  his  clerical 
biographer,  the  king  was  endowed  with  "  a  royal 
providence,  to  which  nothing  ever  seemed  difficult."^ 
When  in  autumn  1419,  Henry  from  Mantes  as  a 
centre  was  sending  out  columns  in  every  direction 
and  was  conducting  several  sieges  at  once,  he  yet 
found  time  not  merely  to  organise  the  siege-parties 
from  Mantes,  but  himself  to  visit  the  various  scenes 
of  action  nearly  every  day,  riding  over  the  surround- 
ing country  from  fort  to  fort,  with  only  a  few  men 
accompanying  him.^  No  wonder  that,  as  his  admiring 
enemy  says,  "  he  was  held  to  be  sage  and  valiant  in 
arms."^     For    he    both    directed    the    fighting,    and 

1   "Elmham,"  op,  cit.,  323.  -  Ibid.,  275. 

»  Ibid.,  182.  •  Ibid.    240. 

»  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  Hist,  de  Charles  VI,  378. 


312  HENRY  V 

himself  took  active  part  in  it.  He  encouraged  his 
men  by  his  spirited  words,  but  he  encouraged  them 
more  by  his  example,^  At  the  siege  of  Melun,  he 
personally  went  down  into  the  dark  and  stifling 
mines,  and  fought  in  them  single-handed.^  After 
the  surrender  of  the  city,  the  Captain  Barbazan  was 
in  danger  of  losing  his  life,  through  being  considered 
an  accomplice  in  the  murder  of  Duke  John  of  Bur- 
gundy. But  he  appealed  for  mercy  to  the  king  as  a 
"  brother-in-arms,"  although  an  enemy,  and  the 
just  king  allowed  the  plea,  for  he  had  fought  hand  to 
hand  with  Barbazan  in  the  mines.  ^ 

It  is  no  wonder  that  such  a  leader  was  worshipped 
by  his  men.  For  he  shirked  nothing  himself,  and  his 
judgment  seemed  infallible.  He  was  thoughtful  for 
them  in  every  way,  and  they  felt  that  whatever  he 
asked  them  to  do,  could  be  accomplished.  There  was 
never,  says  his  biographer,  a  murmur  in  the  army,  at 
his  decrees  and  regulations.*  Yet  he  would  admit 
no  deviation  from  those  regulations,  and  transgression 
was  met  with  a  swift  and  inflexible  penalty.  For 
stealing,  under  which  was  included  plunder  in  a 
conquered  district,  the  penalty  was  hanging,^  The 
soldier  who  in  a  skirmish  ran  away  and  left  his  out- 
numbered comrades  to  die,  was  buried  alive.*  It 
was  not  merely  the  common  soldiers  who  were 
treated  severely.  When  at  the  siege  of  Melun  it  was 
discovered     that     some    English     and     Burgundian 

1   "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  275.  ^  Ibid.,  28G. 

^  Kingsford,  First  English  Life,  168  ;   Holinshed,  Chronicles,  611. 

^  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  249. 

^  Ibid.,  318-19.  «  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  op.  cit.,  387. 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  318 

gentlemen  had  connived  (for  money,  as  it  seems)  at 
the  escape  of  some  of  the  garrison,  king  Henry, 
although  the  guilty  men  were  his  friends,  had  them 
executed.^  King  Henry's  justice  was  influenced 
neither  by  sentiment  nor  social  feeling.  The  Bastard 
of  Vaurus,  one  of  the  commanders  in  Meaux,  had 
hanged  many  poor  French  labourers.  Henry  had  him 
hanged  on  the  "Vaurus  elm."  The  king  was  much 
criticised  for  giving  a  nobleman  so  severe  a  penalty 
and  so  disgraceful  a  death,  but  the  French  chronicler 
clearly  thinks  the  judgment  was  right.  ^ 

"  Hard  cases  make  bad  law,"  but  king  Henry 
would  never  allow  any.  His  rule  was  simple  and 
never  varied.  Thus  his  men  knew  exactly  what  to 
expect,  and  could  shape  their  conduct  accordingly. 
They  liked  the  vigorous,  active  young  king,  who  lived 
among  them  and  bore  all  their  burdens.  He  was 
temperate  himself,  and  he  enforced  temperance  on 
his  soldiers.  At  Troyes,  in  1420,  he  would  only  allow 
watered  wine  to  be  drunk  in  his  army  ;  ^  on  the  march 
to  Agincourt  when  his  soldiers,  who  had  drunk  the 
wine  at  a  captured  castle,  asked  leave  to  take  away 
the  rest  in  bottles,  he  forbade  them,  with  the  con- 
temptuous remark,  that  they  had  already  made 
bottles  of  their  bellies.  It  was  by  his  extraordinary 
union  of  all  the  qualities  necessary  for  a  leader,  his 
skill  in  campaigns  and  battles,  his  power  of  detailed 
organisation,  his  just  and  equal  treatment  of  every- 

^  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  286  ;   Monstrelet,  La  Chronique,  297. 
2  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  op.  cit.,  387, 
*  "Elmham,"  op.  cit.,  251. 


314  HENRY  V 

body,  that  he  was  able  to  keep  his  army  for  four 
years  in  the  field,  without  moral  deterioration,  and 
"  without  a  murmur."^ 

Modern  writers  have  seen  in  king  Henry  the 
originator  of  some  of  the  greatest  forces  of  to-day  ; 
in  him  is  seen,  "  the  restorer  of  the  English  navy, 
the  founder  of  our  military,  international  and 
maritime  law."^  These  aspects  of  this  many-sided 
ruler  are  summed  up  in  the  great  code  of  regulations, 
issued  by  him  in  the  middle  of  the  conquest  of 
Normandy,  at  Mantes,  in  July,  1419.3  xhe  rules  are 
short,  strictly  to  the  point,  and  form  an  excellent 
specimen  of  the  "king's  EngUsh."*  "  Thiez  ben 
statutes  and  ordinancez  made  by  the  right  noble 
prince,  king  Henry  the  Fifte,  at  the  treaty  and 
counseil  of  Mawnt."  The  rules  show  the  care  of  the 
king  for  religious  people,  for  women  and  children, 
for  merchants,  for  labourers  :  "  Also  that  no  maner 
of  man  be  so  hardy  to  rob  ne  to  pille  holy  Church 
of  no  good,  ne  ornament,  that  longeth  to  the  Churche, 
ne  to  sle  no  man  of  holy  Church,  religious,  ne  none 
other,  but  if  he  be  armed,  upon  peyne  of  deth.  .  .  . 
Also  that  no  man  be  so  hardy  to  pile  ne  robbe  none 
other  of  vitaill,  ne  of  none  other  lyvelode,  the  which 
they  have  by  bying,  upon  peyn  of  deth."  This  last 
regulation  is  headed  "  For  robbyng  of  marchauntes 
comying  to  the  market."  Prisoners  were  not  to  be 
made  of  youths  under  fourteen  years  :    "  Also  that 

1  "Elmham,"  249.  -  Stubbs,  Constitutional  Hist.,  Ill,  77. 

3  Black  Book  of  the  Admiralty,  I,  459. 

*  For  the  "  King's  English,"  see  Ramsay,  Lancaster  and  York, 
I,  309. 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  315 

noman  be  so  hardy  to  take  no  children  within  the 
age  of  XIIII  yeres,  but  if  he  be  a  lordes  son,  or  elles 
a  worshipfull  gentilmans  son  or  a  captain.  .  .  . 
Also  that  nomaner  man  be  so  hardy  to  go  in  to  no 
chambre,  or  loggyng,  where  that  eny  woman  lythe 
in  child-birth,  her  to  robbe  ne  pile  of  no  goodes,  the 
which  longeth  unto  her  refresshyng,  ne  for  to  make 
none  affray,  where  thorough  she  and  her  childe 
might  be  in  in  eny  disease,  or  dispeyr.  .  .  .  Also 
that  nomaner  man  be  so  hardy  to  take  fro  noman 
gaying  to  the  plough,  harrowe,  or  carte,  hors,  mare, 
nor  oxe,  nor  none  other  beste  longyng  to  labour 
within  the  Kynge's  obeissaunce  .  .  .  and  also  that 
noman  gyve  none  impediment  unto  nomaner  of 
labour.  ..."  Thus  plundering  was  forbidden  and 
so  was  burning :  "  withoutyn  commaundement 
speciall  of  the  Kyng  that  noman  brenne  uppon  peyn 
of  deth."  It  is  no  wonder  then  that  French  people 
sometimes  preferred  the  loins  of  king  Henry  to  the 
little  finger  of  their  own  national  government : 
merchants  and  others  who  had  been  made  prisoners 
at  different  times  by  king  Henry,  the  Burgundians, 
and  the  Armagnacs,  affirmed  that  the  Burgundians 
had  treated  them  better  than  the  Armagnacs,  and 
the  English  had  treated  them  better  than  both.^ 
King  Henry  was  noted  for  his  humane  rules  of  war, 
yet  when  severity  was  necessary  he  would  not  give 
way  to  the  useless  humanity  which  only  prolongs 
war.     In  December,  1420,  when  he  had  conquered 

1  Journal  d'un  Bourgeois  de  Paris,  649. 


310  HENRY  V 

the  North  of  France,  except  a  few  fortresses,  the 
hostile  garrison  of  Meaux  threatened  to  burn  the 
neighbouring  region,  if  king  Henry  made  any  attempt 
against  them.  But  the  king  merely  replied,  that 
"  he  would  besiege  and  capture  the  town.  As  to  fire, 
it  was  the  usage  of  war,  and  that  war  without  fire 
was  no  more  worth  than  sausages  without  mustard."^ 

Henry's  most  permanent  gift  to  England  is  the 
sentiment  of  patriotism.  Under  the  influence  of 
this  feeling  a  man  looks  upon  his  native  country  as 
peculiarly  his  own,  and  upon  the  rest  of  the  nation 
as  being,  in  a  sense,  part  of  himself.  But  the  devotion 
to  "  country  "  seems  to  predominate,  and  men  who 
are  rejected  by  their  own  people,  and  who  look  upon 
them  with  disgust,  may  yet  think  with  affection  of 
their  country  and  for  it  sacrifice  their  lives.  The 
native  country  of  a  man  is  an  ideal,  for  which  he 
may  live  and  die. 

In  ancient  days  this  love  of  country  existed  among 
the  Romans  of  the  early  Republic,  and  perhaps  in 
some  of  the  states  of  Greece.  But  patriotism  was 
lost  in  the  great  cosmopolitan  Roman  Empire,  and 
even  in  the  early  Middle  Ages  it  was  hardly  known. 
After  the  death  of  Charlemagne,  the  boundaries  of 
states  were  ill-defined,  there  was  little  continuity 
in  governments.  Feudalism  had  a  cosmopolitan 
element,  and  a  man  belonged  to  his  class,  his  ties 
were  to  his  overlord,  his  affection  was  for  his  family 
and  his  castle. 

^  J.  J.  des  Ursins,  op.  cit.,  384. 


WORK  AND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V  317 

Only  gradually  were  national  states  formed. 
France,  which  was  a  mass  of  diverse  fiefs  and  peoples, 
grew  to  a  feeling  of  unity,  under  the  pressure  of  the 
Hundred  Years'  War,  and  in  the  development  of 
royal  absolutism.  England  under  the  Anglo-Saxons 
was  not  a  nation,  no  army  of  all  England  stood 
against  William  the  Conqueror  at  Hastings.  The 
result  of  the  Norman  Conquest  was  to  impose  an 
alien  aristocracy,  of  a  superior  type,  on  the  Anglo- 
Saxons.  The  Norman  kings  were  succeeded  by 
Angevins,  and  gradually  the  Norman  nobles  lost 
their  distinct  racial  characters,  and  an  English  type 
and  an  English  speech  emerged.  But  although  the 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  in  England  saw 
great  kings  and  great  statesmen,  men  who  did  much 
for  England  and  for  the  people  as  a  whole,  yet  there 
was  little  sentiment  for  England  as  an  ideal  by 
herself.  Feudalism  was  still  cosmopolitan,  and  the 
barons  who  championed  the  cause  of  the  nation 
against  king  John,  were  nevertheless  ready  to  invite 
a  foreign  prince,  Louis,  into  England.  The  wars  of 
Edward  III  against  France  helped  the  development  of 
the  sentiment  for  England,  but  the  "  bastard  feudal- 
ism ' '  of  which  he  was  so  fond  checked  the  growth. 
But  Henry  V  was  the  son  of  an  English  father, 
and — what  was  rare  in  our  kings — of  an  English 
mother.  He  pacified  and  united  the  whole  of  England, 
he  put  to  sleep  the  factions  of  the  nobles,  and  he  led 
a  force  drawn  practically  exclusively  from  England, 
against   the   ancient    foe.      Englishmen   found   their 


318  HENRY  V 

type  of  national  hero  in  him,  and  through  his  hfe 
and  achievements,  there  grew  up  a  feehng  for  England 
as  an  ideal  in  men's  hearts  and  minds,  which  is  the 
sentiment  of  patriotism. 

The  beautiful  words  which  Shakespeare  has  put 
into  the  mouth  of  John  of  Gaunt  express  for  ever 
the  highest  kind  of  patriotic  affection.  It  required 
Shakespeare  and  the  Elizabethan  age  to  give  the 
appropriate  expression.  The  feelings  expressed  could 
hardly  have  been  felt  by  an  Englishman  of  Richard 
II' s  reign.  But  the  words  would  stand  well  for  the 
feelings  in  the  age  of  Henry  V,  a  period  which  the 
Elizabethans  always  regarded  as  the  golden  age  of 
England  : 

This  royal  throne  of  kings,  this  scepter'd  isle, 

This  earth  of  majesty,  this  seat  of  Mars, 

This  other  Eden,  demi-paradise  ; 

This  fortress  built  by  Nature  for  herself, 

Against  infection  and  the  hand  of  war  ; 

This  happy  breed  of  men,  this  little  world. 

This  precious  stone  set  in  the  silver  sea, 

Which  serves  it  in  the  office  of  a  wall, 

Or  as  a  moat  defensive  to  a  house. 

Against  the  envy  of  less  happier  lands  ; 

This  blessed  plot,  this  realm,  this  earth,  this  England... 

This  land  of  such  dear  souls,  this  dear,  dear  land.  . .  . 
England,  bound  in  with  the  triumphant  sea.  .  .  .  ^ 

The  patriotic  poems  of  the  fifteenth  century  move 
with  no  such  stately  measure  as  this,  they  express 
their  feeling  in  a  ruder  way,  but  with  equal  sincerity. 

1  Richard  II   Act  TI,  Scene  1. 


WORK  x\ND  CHARACTER  OF  HENRY  V     319 

Owre  kynge  went  forth  to  Normandy, 
With  grace  and  might  of  chivalry  ; 
The  God  for  him  wrouzt  marvelously, 
Wherefore  Englonde  may  calle,  and  cry 

Deo  Gratias. 
Deo  gratias,  AngUa  redde  pro  victoria. 

Now  gracious  God  he  save  owre  kynge. 
His  people,  and  all  his  wel  wyllynge, 
Gef  him  gode  ly ve,  and  gode  endynge, 
That  we  with  merth  mowe  savely  synge,' 

Deo  Gratias. 
Deo  Gratias,  Anglia  redde  pro  victoria.  ^ 

A  patriotic  poet  in  1436  bewailed  the  loss  of  English 
maritime  power,   and  of  the  greatness  of  England, 
which  the  fifth  Henry  had  so  cared  for  : 
Shalle  any  prynce,  what  so  be  hys  name, 

Wheche  hathe  nobles  mochc  lyche  oures. 
Be  lorde  of  see,  and  Fflemmynghis  to  oure  blame, 

Stoppe  us,  take  us,  and  so  make  fade  the  floures 
Of  Englysshc  state,  and  disteyne  oure  honnoures  ?  ^ 

King  Henry,  the  poet  asserted,   would  never  have 

allowed  England  to  be  so  depressed  : 

And  yf  I  shulde  conclude  al  by  the  kynge, 

Henry  the  fifte  what  was  hys  purposynge. 

Whan  at  Hampton  he  made  the  grete  dromons. 

Which  passed  other  grete  shippes  of  alle  the  comons. 

The  Trinite,  the  Grace-Dieu,  the  Holy-Goste    ■ 

And  other  moo  whiche  as  now  be  loste. 

What  hope  ye  was  the  kynges  grette  entente 

Of  the  shippes,  and  what  in  mynde  he  mente  ? 

It  was  not  ellis  but  that  he  caste  to  be 

Lorde  rounde  aboute  enviroun  of  the  see.^ 

1  Percy's  Reliques,  V,  "  for  the  victory  at  Agiiicourt." 
*  "  Libel  of  English  PoHcy,"  in  Political  Poems  (Rolls  Series), 
II,  15U.     Fflemmynghis  is  Flanders.  ^  Ibid.,  199. 


320  HENRY  V 

With  this  parting  message  for  the  keeping  ol"  the 
sea  we  may  take  leave  of  the  great  king. 

To  spcke  of  hym  I  stony  in  my  witte. 

Thus  here  I  leve  the  kynge  wyth  his  nobelesse 

No  better  was  prince  of  strenuite  !^ 

In  Henry  V,  in  the  beautiful  words  of  Bishop  Stubbs, 
"  the  dying  energies  of  medieval  life  kindle  for  a 
short  moment  into  flame."  ^  Courage,  determination, 
judgment,  industry,  even  in  the  smallest  details  ; 
these  were  his  chief  qualities.  His  life  shows  the 
importance  of  personality  in  the  history  of  human 
affairs.  In  the  fifteenth  century  the  era  of  great 
movements  had  passed.  King  Henry  when  he  began 
to  do  his  work,  had  only  to  depend  on  a  disappointed, 
disillusioned  people.  Single-handed,  he  led  them 
along  the  path  of  greatness  ;  he  made  them  forget 
their  private  ills,  and  think  instead  of  England.  His 
moral  influence  survived,  when  his  empire  had  gone 
to  ruin.  In  the  long  line  of  able  English  kings  since 
Alfred,  he  alone  inspired  at  once  the  admiration 
and  affection  of  his  people. 

1   Ibid.,  200.  -  Siuhhs,  Coiisliiulinnal  Hist.,  Ill,  96. 


I 

ITINERARY  OF  HENRY  V 

Note.— T/(e  Patent,  Close,  Fine  Rolls  and  the  Wardrobe  and 
Housefiold  Accounts  {bundle  400)  oj  the  reign  furnish  the  greater 
part  of  the  Itiyierary.    Other  sources  are  referred  to  in  footnotes. 

1413.  Mar.  21  to  A^nil  1,  Westminster  ;  2-5,  Sutton  ;  6, 
Kingston  ;  7,  The  Tower  of  London  ;  8,  9,  Westminster  ; 
10-13,  Westminster,  Sutton  ;  14,  Uxbridge  ;  15,  Langley  ; 
16  to  May  13,  Westixiinster  ;  14-27,  Kennington  ;  28  to 
June  11,  Westminster  ;  12,  Westminster,  Kennington  ;  13, 
Dartford  ;  14,  Rochester  ;  15,  Ospringe  ;  16-18,  Canterbury  ; 
19,  Canterbury,  Sittingbourne  ;  20,  Rochester  ;  21-25,  Ken- 
nington ;  26  to  July  2,  Sutton  ;  3,  Sutton,  Dartford  ;  4, 
Park  of  Windsor  ;  5,  Park  of  Windsor,  Ospringe  ;  6,  7, 
Canterbury  ;  8,  Canterbury,  Faversham  ;  9,  Faversham  ; 
10,  Faversham,  Rochester;  11,  Rochester,  Dartford;  12, 
Dartford,  Westminster  ;  13-19,  Westminster  ;  20-21,  Park 
of  Windsor,  Kingston  ;  22  to  Aug.  1,  Park  of  Windsor  ;  2, 
Park  of  Windsor,  Henley  ;  3-13,  Henley  ;  14,  Henley,  Wind- 
sor ;  15-29,  Park  of  Windsor  ;  30,  Park  of  Windsor,  Selborne  ; 
31,  Selborne  ;  Sept.  1  to  18,  Park  of  Windsor  ;  19,  Park  of 
Windsor,  Guildford  ;  20  to  Oct.  8,  Guildford  ;  9,  Chertsey  ; 
10-31,  Merton  ;   Nov.  1  to  Dec.  28,  Westminster. 

1414.  Jan.  1  to  25,  Westminster  ;  26,  Westminster,  St. 
Albans  ;  27-30,  Feb.  1  to  19,  Westminster  ;  27,  Mar.  2,  7, 
16,1  Kenilworth  ;  April  2,  Tewkesbury  ;  ^  23,  24,  26,  28,  30, 
May  1  to  30,  Leicester  ;  31,  Leicester,  Market  Harborough  ;  ^ 
June  3,  4,  Leicester  ;  *  8,  Bvu'ton-on-Trent ;  '  26,  Winchester  ; 
July  5,  Bly the; c-    10,  Peterborough  ;'     16,  Hertford  Castle  ; 

1  Chan.  Warrants,  file  1364.         -  Treaty  R.  97,  m.  26. 

3  Ibid.,  m.  25. 

4  Chan.  Warrants,  file  1304  ;    Treaty  R.  97,  m.  22. 

5  Chan.  Warrants,  file  1364.        «  Treaty  R.  97,  m.  17. 
'  CImii.  Warrants,  file  1364. 

V  321 


822  HENRY   V 

17,  Wostminstor ;  18,  Westminster,  St.  Neots  '  ?  ;  20  to  Sept.  13, 
Westminster;  14,  Sutton  ^  ?,  Westminster;  15  to  Oct.  26, 
Westminster  ;  27,  Hertford  Castle  ;  28  to  Dec.  80,  West- 
minster. 

1415.  Jan.  1  to  Jime  15,  Westminster  ;  16  to  July  2,  Win- 
chester ;  3,  Winchester,  SouthaiTipton  ;  *  4,  Winchester  ;  5, 
Winchester,  Porcliester  Castle  ;  6,*  7,  Winchester  ;  17,  Walt- 
ham  ;  20,  Southampton  ;  21,  Waltham  ;  22,  Waltham, 
Southampton  ;  23,  Waltham  ;  24-27,  Southampton  ;  *  28, 
Waltham,  Southampton  ;  *  29,  Waltham,  Southampton,' 
Porcliester  ;  31,  Southampton  ;  Aug.  1  to  6,  Southampton  ;** 
7,  Southampton,  Porcliester  Castle  ;  8,  Porcliester,  Waltham, 
Southampton  ;  9,  Waltham,  Porcliester  ;  10,  Waltham  ;  •  11, 
sailed  from  Portsmouth  ;  14,  reached  Harfieur  ;  15  to  Oct.  8, 
Harfleur  ;  11,  Arques  ;  12,  Eu  ;  14,  Blanchetaciue  ;  21, 
Peronne  ;  25,  Agincourt  ;  29  to  Nov.  16,  Calais  ;  10,  17, 
Dover;  18,  Canterbury;  20,  Sittingbourne  ;  ^^  22,  Eltham  ; 
23  to  Dec.  31,  Westminster. 

1418.  Jan.  1  to  June  23,  Westminster  ;  24  to  July  12, 
Titchfield  ;ii  14,  Winchester  ;  18-26,^-  Southampton  ;  29, 
Guildford  ;^^  30,  Westminster  ;  31,  Rotherhithe  ;'*  Aug.  1  to  4, 
Westminster  ;  5,  Eltham  ;  6,  Southampton  ;  7-14,  West- 
minster ;  15,  Canterbury  ;i5  16-18,  Westminster;  20-28, i« 
Canterbuiy  ;  29,  31,''  Dover  ;  Sept.  1  to  4,  Sandwich  ;  6  to 
Oct.  14,  Calais  ;  '«  19  to  Dec.  11,  Westminster  ;  12-13,  Mort- 
lake  ;    14-24,  Westminster  ;    27-3 1,'*  Kenilworth  Castle. 

1417.  Jan.  1  to  25,  Kenilworth  Castle  ;2''  28  to  Mar.  19, 
Westminster  ;  20,  Mortlake  ;  21,  Westminster  ;  22,  West- 
minster, Mortlake  ;  23  to  April  12,  Westminster  ;  13-23, 
Windsor  Castle  ;"  May  1,  Waltham  ;^^  5-15,  Reading  ;"  30, 
Salisbury;  June  1,  Waltham,  Sahsbury  ;^*  2-4,  SaUsbury  ;^* 
5,  Beaulieu,  Waltham  ;  7,  Titchfield,'*  Waltham  ;  8,  Titch- 
field," Southampton;  10,  Titchfield,''*  Waltham;  11,  Titchfield; 

1  Ibid.  2  jjjij^  3  Treaty  R.  98,  m.  7. 

*  Ibid.,  m.  13.  *  Treaty  R.  98,  m.  12,  14. 

8  Ibid.,  m.  12.         '  Ibid.         «  Ibid.,  m.  8.  Ibid.,  m.  10.  12. 

s  Ibid.,  m.  10.  10  Treaty  R.  98,  ra.  6. 

"  Chan.  Warrants,  file  1364  ;  Treaty  R.  99,  m.  20. 
12  Ibid.  i»  Chan.  Warrants,  file"! 3(34.  i*  Ibid. 

^^  Treaty  R.  99,  m.  17.  '»  Ibid.,  m.  19.  i'  Ibid. 

18  Ibid.,  m.  14,  15,  l(j,  17,  21,  26. 

19  CJutn.  Warrnyits,  file  1364.         20  ^/,„„_  Warrants,  file  1304. 
21  Treaty  R.  100,  m.  21,  24.  22  7^,^/^  jj^_  iq 

2*  Ibid.,  m.  iO,  20,  22.  »«  Ibid.,  m.  15.  25  /;,,-,?. 

26  Ibid.  27  /^„v/.  28  /ft,v7.  m.  Ifi. 


ITINERARY   OF   HENRY   V  323 

13,  Waltliam;'  14-15,  Titehfiokl,-  WalUiam  ;  10,  Waltham  ;=■ 
18,  Walthain,*  SoutJiam]iton  ;  20,  Waltharn,  Soutliampton  ;* 
21-23,  Soutliaiiipton  ;  «  24,  Titclifield,"  Walthani  ;  26, 
Waltharn  ;«  27-29,  Titchfield  ; »  30,  Southampton;  July  1, 
Southampton,  Titchfield,'"  Porchester  ;  3,  4,  Waltharn, 
Titchfield  ;  "  6,  7,  Southampton  ;i3  8,  Southampton, ^^^  Titch- 
field,i=»  Waltharn  ;  9,  Southampton  ;'*  10-12,^*  Waltharn, 
Southampton;  13,  14,^®  Southampton;  15,  Southampton,^' 
Waltharn;  16,  Southampton  ;  ^*  17,  Southampton,  Titchfield, 
Waltham  ;  18,  Porchester  ;  Titchfield,"  Southampton,  Walt- 
ham  ;  20-22,  Porchester,  Waltham  ;2«  23,  Porchester, ^^  Wick- 
ham,*^  Waltham ;  24,  Titchfield,--  Porchester,"^  Portsmouth, 
Wickham,  Waltham  ;  25,  Porchester,  Waltham  ;  26,  South- 
ampton ; -*  27,  Porchester;  Aug.  1  to  10,"*  Touques ;  20  to 
Sept.  19,  the  Abbey  of  St.  Stephen  of  Caen  ;  22  to  Oct.  1,  the 
Castle  of  Caen  ;  2,  3,  tlie  Castle  of  Caen  or  the  Abbey  of  tlie 
Blessed  Mary  of  the  town  of  St.  Peter  above  la  Dive  (supra 
Divam)  ;  4,  Truyn  ;  7,  8,  the  army  near  Argentan  ;  10-13, 
the  Castle  of  Argentan  ;  16-24,  with  the  army  near  Alen9on  ; 
27  to  Nov.  24,  the  Castle  of  Alen^on  ;  Dec.  1  to  31,  with  the 
army  near  Falaise. 

1418.  Jan.  1  to  31,  Falaise  ;  Feb.  1  to  20,  Falaise  or  the 
Castle  of  Falaise  ;  22  to  Mar.  3,  Castle  of  Caen ;  5,  April  19,"'' 
City  of  Bayeux  ;  20  to  May  27,  Caen  ;  27-31,  Lisieux  ;  June  1, 
2,  Bernay  ;  4,  5,  6,  Abbey  of  Bee  Hellouin  ;  6,  7,  Neufbourg  ; 
8-26,  the  camp  before  Louviers  ;  28  to  July  27,  before  Pont  de 
I'Arehe  ;   31  to  Dec.  31,  before  Rouen. 

1419.  Jan.  1  to  28,  before  Rouen  ;  29  to  Mar.  24,  Rouen 
Castle  or  before  Rouen  ;  25  to  April  5,  Evreux  ;  5  to  May  26, 
Vernon  sur  Seine  ;  26  to  Aug.  5,  Mantes  ;  6-18,  Pontoise  ; 
21  to  Sept.  3,  Rouen  ;  3-18,  army  before  Trie  le  Chastel  or 
Rouen  ;  19  to  Oct.  7,  Gisors  ;  8,  to  Nov.  23,  Mantes  ;  24  to 
Dec.  15,  Vernon  or  Rouen  ;    15-31,  Rouen. 

1  Ibid.,  m.  18.         *  Ibid.,  m.  14.         ^  /j^^,^  j^,  7,        4  /jj^;.^  ,„,  iq_ 

*  Ibid.,  m.  15.  «  Ibid.  ">  Ibid.  »  Ibid.,  m.  18. 

»  Ibid.,  m.  15,  14,  17.  i"  Ibid.,  m.  15.  11  Ibid.,  in.  18,  14. 

12  Ibid.,  m.  15,  14.  13  Treaty  R.  100,  m.  13.  '*  Ibid.,  ra.  15. 

i"*  Ibid.,  m.  14,  8.         i«  Ibid.,  m.  16.  »'  Ibid.,  m.  14.         i*  Ibid. 

19  Ibid.,  m.  16.  "0  Ibid.,  13,  15,  16,  17.  "  Ibid.,  10,  14. 

"  Ibid.,  18,  13.  23  Ibid.,  m.  6. 

-*  From  1  Aug.,  1417,  to  3  Mar.,  1418,  see  Rotuli  Normanniae  (Rec. 
Corn.),  I,  pp.  145-385. 

"^  From  5  Mar.,  1418,  to  31  Dec,  1420,  except  where  otherwise  refer- 
enced, see  Cal.  of  Norman  Rolls,  Henry  V,  in  Def.  Keeper's  forty-first 
Hep.,  App.  T,  679-810,  and  Ibid.,  forty-second  Rep.,  App.,  pp.  313-410. 


32t  HENRY  V 

1420.  Jan.  1  to  April  23  (?),  Rouen;  23  (?)-26,  Mantes; 
28,  29,  May  1,  fi,  8,  Pontoise  ;  21,  25,  26,  Troyes  ;  June  7,  8, 
Villeneuve  le  Roy  ;  16,  Bray  ;  24,  25,  28,  to  July  3.  5,  7,  Mon- 
tereau  ;  9-29,  Melun  or  Corljeil  ;  Aug.  1  to  Dec.  31,  Paris  or 
Melun. 

1421.  Jan.  8,  Calais  ;  8  to  Feb.  1,^  Dover  ;  5  to  Mar.  5, 
Westminster  ;  7,  Weobley  ;  11,  Shrewsbury  ;'^  15,  Coventry  ; 
24-27,  Leicester  ;  April  1  to  7,  York  ;  8,  York,  Howden  ; 
9,  Beverley;  11,  Howden;  15,  Lincoln,  Newark;  18^  to 
May  8,  Westminster  ;  9,  Westminster,  Lambeth  ;  10-31, 
Westminster  ;  June  1  to  6,  Canterbuiy  ;  6-10,  Dover  ;  10, 
Calais  ;  July  4,*  Paris  ;  8-20,  Mantes  ;  24  to  Aug.  18,  with 
the  army  near  Dreux  ;  18-22,  tlie  army  near  Drevix  or  Morou- 
val  near  Dreux  ;  22-24,  Evreux  ;  24-27,  Morouval  near 
Dreux  ;  29,  near  Chartres  ;  Sept.  4,  Morovival  near  Dreux  ; 
18,  Nemours  ;  28,  Joigny  ;  Oct.  13,  Lagny  sur  Marne  ; 
during  Nov.,^  Dec,  near  Meaux. 

1422.  Jan.  14,  16,  near  Meaux  ;  22,  Vernon  ;  27,  Paris  ; 
throughout  Feb.,  near  Meaux  ;  8,  15,  18,  St.  Pharon  near 
Meaux  ;  throughout  Mar.  near  Meaux  ;  11,  Caudebec  ;  11, 
Harfleur  ;  15,  Fecamp  ;  throughout  April  before  Meaux  ; 
7,  8,  26,  Paris  ;  May  7,  9,  Meaux  ;  26,  Paris  ;  June  1  to  16, 
Paris  ;  21,  Senlis  ;  23,  Paris  ;  26,  Compiegne  ;  29,  Senlis  ; 
July  3,  4,  before  Senlis  ;  25,  to  Aug.  6,  Corbeil  ;  Atig.  28,  30, 
31,  Bois  de  Vincennes. 

1    Pat.  E.,  8,  Hen.  V,  p,  1. 
-  Chan.  Warrants,  file  1365. 
3  Treaty  R.  104,  m.  18. 

*  From  4  July,  1421,  to  31  Aug.,  1422,  see  Cal.  of  Norman  Rolls, 
Henry  V^,  in  Dep.  Keeper  s  forty-second  li'-p.,  App.,  pp.  410-452. 
^  9,  14  Nov.,  at  Ruthille  near  Meaux,  Chan.  Warrants,  file  1365. 


II 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

A  complete  and  critical  guide  to  the  sources  for  the 
period  will  be  found  in  English  Historical  Literature  in  the 
Fifteenth  Centurij,  by  C.  L.  Kingsford  (Oxford,  1913). 

Printed  Records 

Calendar  of  the  Patent  Rolls,  1399-1422,  prepared  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  Deputy-Keeper  of  the  Public 
Records.  (London,  1903  and  the  following  years.)  Full  of 
important  details  regarding  grants  of  land,  pensions, 
appointments,  relations  of  the  Crown  toAvards  religious 
bodies. 

Rymer,  Foedera,  Vols.  IX,  X.  (London,  1709,  1710.) 
Indispensa,ble  for  diplomatic  and  foreign  affairs. 

Rolls  of  Parliament,  Vols.  Ill,  IV. 

Proceedings  and  Ordinances  of  the  Privy  Council  of  Eng- 
land, edited  by  N.  H.  Nicolas  (1834),  Vols.  I,  II. 

Calendar  of  the  Norman  Rolls.  Appendix  to  the  41st 
and  42nd  Reports  of  the  Deputy  Keeper.  (London,  1880- 
1881.)  Most  important  for  the  lists  of  gentlemen  and 
religious  houses,  to  whom  Henry  V  gave  letters  of  con- 
firmation when  he  conquered  Normandy. 

Calendar  of  the  French  Rolls.  Reports  from  Com- 
missioners, Vol.  XXI,  pp.  542-638  (1883).  Chiefly 
appointments  made  by  Henry  V  in  France  outside  Nor- 
mandy. 

Munimcnta  Academica.  Rolls  Series  50.  Edited  by 
H.  Anstey  (18G8).  Documents  illustrative  of  the  history 
of  the  Universiiy  of  Oxl'ord  during  the  period. 

325 


326  HENRY   V 

Pageant  of  the  Birth,  Life,  and  Death  of  Richard  Beau- 
champ,  Earl  of  Warwick,  K.G.,  1389-1439.  Edited  by 
Viscount  DilU')u  and  W.  H.  St.  John  Hope.  (London, 
1914.)  Valuable  reproductions  of  fifteenth-century 
drawings. 

The  Black  Book  of  the  Admiralty.  Rolls  Series  55. 
Edited  by  T.  Twiss.    (London,  1871.) 

Paris  pendant  la  domination  Anglause  (1420-1436), 
Edited  by  A.  Longnon.  (Paris,  1878.)  Only  a  very  few 
of  these  documents  refer  to  the  reign  of  Henry  V. 

H.  Ellis,  Original  Letters  illustrative  of  English  History 
(1825). 

Chronicles 

Walsingham,  Historia  Anglicana.  Rolls  Scries.  Edited 
by  H.  T.  Riley.  Vol.  II.  (London,  1864),  and  Ypodigma 
Neustriae.    Edited  by  H.  T.  Riley.    (London,  1876.) 

Memorials  of  Henry  the  Fifth.  Rolls  Series.  Edited  by 
C.  A.  Cole.  (London,  1858.)  Comprises— (1)  Vita 
Henrici  Quinti,  by  R.  Redmayne  (a  sjxteenth-century 
life) ;  (2)  Versus  Rhythrnici  in  laudem  Henrici  Quinti 
(by  a  Benedictine  monk  of  Westminster) ;  (3)  Liber 
Metricus  de  Henrico  Quinto  (by  Thomas  of  Elmham,  a 
chaplain  of  Henry  V). 

Gesta  Henrici  Quinti.  English  Historical  Society. 
Edited  by  B.  Williams  (1830).  This  most  valuable  work 
is  now  held  to  be  by  Henry  V's  chaplain,  Thomas  of 
Elmham.  In  the  same  volume  is  printed  the  useful 
Chronique  de  Norniandie. 

Titus  Livius  Forojuliensis,  Vita  Henrici  Quinti.  Edited 
by  T.  Hcarnc  (1716).  An  Italian  from  Forli,  near  Ferrara, 
entered  the  household  of  Humphrey  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
and  wrote  the  life  of  Henry  V  some  time  after  the  year 
1437. 

"  T.  Elmham,"  Vita  et  Gesta  Henrici  Quinti.  Edited  by 
T.  Hearne  (1727).  This  book  is  not  really  by  Elmham, 
although  Hearne  imputed  it  to  him.  It  is  probably  by  a 
foreigner,  and  seems  to  have  been  written  about  the  year 
1415. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  327 

J.  Capgrave,  Liber  de  Illustribus  Henricis.  Roils  Scries. 
Edited  by  F.  C.  Hingeston  (1858). 

Adam  of  Usk,  Chronicoti.  Edited  by  Sir  E.  M.  Thomp- 
son.    (London,  1904.) 

Political  Poems  and  Songs.  Rolls  Series.  Edited  by 
T.  Wright.  Vol.  II.  (London,  1861.)  This  is,  of  course, 
not  a  chronicle,  but  contains  much  valuable  contemporary 
matter. 

An  English  Chronicle,  1377-1461.  Camden  Society. 
Edited  by  J.  S.  Davies  (1856). 

John  Page,  The  Siege  of  Rouen.  Historical  collections 
of  a  citizen  of  London.  Camden  Society.  (London, 
1876.)  This  interesting  poem  was  written  by  an  English- 
man who  was  present  at  the  siege. 

John  Hardyng,  Chronicle.  Edited  by  H.  Ellis  (1812). 
Valuable  rhyming  chronicle. 

A  Chronicle  of  London,  1089-1483.  Edited  by  N.  PL 
Nicolas  (1827). 

Waurin,  Receuil  des  croniques  et  anchiennes  istories  de 
la  Grant  Bretaigne  a  present  nomme  Engleterre.  Vol.  1399- 
1422.  Rolls  Scries.  Edited  by  W.  Hardy  aod  E.  L.  C.  P. 
Hardy.  (London,  1868.)  The  same,  translated  by  Hardy. 
(London,  1887.)  A  native  of  Flanders,  present  in  the 
French  army  at  Agincourt.  Owes  much  to  Monstrelet's 
chronicle. 

Enguerrand  de  Monstrelet,  La  Chronique.  Edited  for 
the  Societe  de  I'Histoire  de  France  by  Douet  d'Arcq  (1857). 
Also  edited  by  Sauvage  (1572). 

Georges  Chastellain,  Oeuvres.  Edited  by  Kervyn  de 
Lettenhove.    (Brussels,  1863.) 

J.  J.  des  Ursins,  Histoire  de  Charles  VI.  Edited  by 
Godefroy  (1653).  Another  edition  by  Michaud  et  Poujou- 
lat,  Nouvelle  collection  de  Memoircs  relatif  a  I'histoirc  dc 
France,  tome  II. 

Chronique  du  Religieux  de  Saint-Denys.  Vols.  Ill  to  VL 
In  Collections  de  Documents  L\edits  sur  I'llistoire  de 
France  (1844):  des  Ursins  used  this  important  work  for 
the  first  twenty  years  of  his  history. 


328  HENRY  V 

Chroniquc  de  Jean  le  Fevre,  Seigneur  de  Solnt-Remy. 
Edited  by  F.  Morand,  in  Societe  de  I'Histoii'c  de  France, 
2  vols.  (1876).  A  Frenchman  present  in  Henry  V's  army 
at  Agincourt.    (Battle,  Vol.  I,  pp.  240-259.) 

Un  Journal  de  Paris.  In  Memoires  pour  servir  a 
I'Histoire  de  France  et  de  Bom-gogne.     (Paris,  1729.) 

Journal  d'un  Bourgeois  de  Paris,  in  Michaud  et  Poujoulat, 
Nouv.  coll.  de  Memoires,  tome  II.  Very  valuable  con- 
cerning the  economic  condition  of  the  Isle  of  France. 

Memoires  de  Pierre  de  Fenin.  Edited  by  Mile.  Dupont 
in  Societe  de  I'Histoire  de  France  (1837). 

Guillaume  Gruel,  Chronique  d^  Arthur  de  Riche-mont,  Con- 
netable  de  France,  Due  de  Bretagne.  Edited  by  A.  le 
Vavasseur.  (Soc.  de  I'Hist.  de  France,  1890.)  Taken 
prisoner  at  Agincourt  (p.  18).  Adopted  the  Burgundian 
side  on  release  (p.  25). 

Note.— The  contemporarj^  narrative  of  John  Strecche, 
a  canon  in  the  Augustinian  priory  at  Ivenilworth,  is  in  the 
British  Museum  Add.  MSS.  35295.    It  is  in  Latin. 

Later  Works 

The  First  English  Life  of  King  Henry  the  Fifth.  Written 
in  1513  by  an  anonymous  author.  Edited  by  C.  L.  Kings- 
ford.  (Oxford,  1911.)  A  most  important  work,  based 
partly  on  Livius,  partly  the  work  of  the  4th  Earl  of 
Ormonde  (1392-1452).  The  Introduction,  by  Mr.  Kings- 
ford,  is  an  extremely  valuable  contribution  to  the  critical 
history  of  Henry  V. 

R.  Fabyaii,  The  New  Chronicle  of  England.  Edited  by 
H.  Ellis  (1811).    Fabyan  wrote  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII. 

E.  Hall,  Chronicle.  Edited  by  H.  Ellis  (1812).  Hall 
wrote  under  Henry  VIII. 

J.  Stow,  Annales.  With  continuation  by  E.  Howes. 
(London,  1631.)    The  first  edition  was  1565. 

R.  Hoiinshed,  Chronicles  (1586).  The  \\\".~,[  edilion  of 
the  work  was  in  1578. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  329 


Modern  Works 

T.  Goodwin,  The  History  of  the  Reign  of  Henry  the  Fifth. 
(London,  1704.)  Valuable  because  of  its  copious  refer- 
ences to  chronicles  and  State  papers. 

J.  E.  Tyler,  Henry  of  Monmouth..  (London,  1838.) 
Contains  useful  material,  especially  on  the  early  life  of 
Henry  V. 

N.  H.  Nicolas,  History  of  the  Battle  of  Agincourt.  2nd 
edition  (1832).  This  valuable  work  contains,  among 
other  material,  the  roll  of  the  men-at-arms  in  Henry  V's 
army. 

Same  author.  History  of  the  Royal  Navy  (1847). 

L.  Puiseux,  Prise  de  Caen.  (Caen,  1858.)  U emigration 
normande  et  la  colonisation  anglaise  en  Normandie  au 
15  Siecle  (1866).  These  volumes  contain  valuable  pieces 
justificatives. 

G.  Du  Fresno  dc  Beaucourt,  Histoire  de  Charles  VII. 
(Paris,  1885.)  A  complete  account  of  the  period,  in  great 
detail,  fully  referenced. 

Sir  J.  H.  Ramsay,  Bart.,  Lancaster  and  York.  (Oxford. 
1892.)    A  critical  and  fully  referenced  history. 

E.  Lavisse,  Histoire  de  France,  tome  IV.    (Paris,  1902.) 

J.  Aschbach,  Geschichte  Kaiser  Sigmunds.  (Hamburg, 
1838.) 

M.  Lenz,  Konig  Sigisnmnd  und  Heinrich  der  Fiinfte  von 
England.  (Berlin,  1874.)  Valuable  both  as  regyrds 
German  and  English  sources.  It  brings  out  tlie  closeness 
of  Henry's  alliance  with  Sigisnunid. 

C.  L.  Kingsford,  Henry  V.  (New  York  and  London, 
1901.) 

A.  J.  Church,  Henry  the  Fifth  (18S9). 

J.  H.  Wylic,  History  of  England  under  Henry  IV  (1884). 
Same  ;VJtlK>r,  The  Reign  of  Henry  the  Fifth  (1913).  lioth 
these  works  contain  an  abundance  of  material  and  have 


330  HENRY   V 

exhaustive  footnotes.    The  lust  work  unfortunately  only 
covers  the  period  1413-1415. 

C.  Oman,  Political  History  of  England  (1906). 

Dictionary  of  National  Biography  (1885).  Vol.  XXVI. 
Article  Henry  V,  by  C.  L.  Kingsford. 

F.  Solly-Flood,  The  Story  of  Prince  Henry  and  Judge 
Gascoigne.  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society. 
New  Scries  IH,  49  ff . 


INDEX 


Abbeville,  140,  176,  285 

Aberystwyth,  castle,  14,  29, 
31-3 

Admiralty,  Black  Book  oj  the,  326 

Agenais,  113 

Agincotrrt,  150-1,  322  ;  battle 
of,  150-60,  179,  187,  191,  309, 
313,  327-9 

Albertis,  Laureutius  de,  124 

Alen^on,  202,  218,  323 

Alen^on,  duke  of,  157-8 

Alien  priories,  104-5,  303 

Alington,  Geoffrey,  309 

Alost,  county  of,  187 

Amienois,  230 

Amiens,  176,  249 

Anagni,  169 

Anglesea,  22 

Angoumoie,  113 

Anjou,  111-12, 115, 196,217,  238, 
256,  293,  295-6,  306 

Anstoy,  H.,  325 

Aquitaiue.  55,  111-15,  179,  221 

.\rchers,  118-19.  143,  152-6 

Arcq,  Douet  d',  327 

Argentan,  202,  323 

Armagnac,  count  of,  Bernard 
VII,  French  constable,  45, 
109,  174-5,  179-81,  185,  204 

Armagnacs.  See,  Burgundians 
and  Armagnacs 

Army,  artillery,  129,  199  ;  mo- 
bilisation of  1414,  116-24; 
Norman  expedition,  1417, 
192-3  ;  numbers  and  condi- 
tion before  Agincourt,  136-7, 
152-3 

Arques,  139-40,  322 

Anay,  commissions  of ,  117 

Artillery,  129,  199 

Artois,  296 


Artois,  Collines  de  1',  148 
Arundel,  earls  of  :   Richard,  16  ; 

Thomas,  24,  43,  51-2,  89,  137 
Arundel,  Thomas,  archbishop  of 

Canterbury.    Sec  Canterbury 
Aschbach,  J.,  329 
Auch,  113 

Avignon,  91-2,  170,  174 
Avranches,  305 

Badby,  John,  48-9,  95 

Barbazan,  seigneur  de,  240, 
242-3,  312 

Bardolf,  Lord,  33,  76  n. 

Bardolf,  Sir  William,  75 

Bardolf,  Shakespearean  char- 
acter, 73,  75 

Bath,  bishop  of,  174  «. 

Bavaria,  241 

Bavaria,  duke  of,  180 

Bavaria,  Lewis  of,  count  pala- 
tine.   See  Lewis 

Bayeux,  202-3,  323 

Bazadais,  113 

Beaufort,  castle  of,  41-2,  112 

Beaufort,  Edmund,  40 

Beaufort,  cardinal  Henry, 
bishop  of  Lincoln,  then  of 
Winchester,  42  ;  chancellor, 
89  ;  chancellor  of  Oxford 
University,  7  ;  council  of  re- 
gency including,  114;  friend- 
ship for  Henry  V,  40-2, 
54  ;  Henry  V  under  tutelage 
of,  5-6 ;  loan  to  Henry  V, 
258-9  ;  Oldcastle  tried  be- 
fore, 97  ;  papal  election  in- 
fluenced, 188  ;  parentage,  41  ; 
parliament  opened,  166  ;  plot 
against  Henry  V  attributed  to, 


57 


33» 


332 


HENRY   V 


Beaufort.  Joan,  daughter  of 
John  of  Gaunt.  See  Ferrers, 
Joan,  lady 

Beaufort,  John,  earl  of  Somer- 
set.   See  Somerset 

Beaufort,  Thomas,  earl  of  Dor- 
set.    See  Dorset 

Beaufort  family,  40-2 

Beauge,  battle  of,  254-5 

Beaugency,  264 

Beaulieu,  322 

Beauvais,  176 

Beauvaisis,  230 

Bee  Hellouin,  abbey  of,  323 

Bedford,  John,  duke  of  :  Cosne 
siege  raised,  278,  280  ;  created 
duke  of  Bedford,  109  ;  em- 
peror entertained,  178  ; 
French  envoys  received,  115  ; 
funeral  of  Henry  V  attended, 
285  ;  Henry  V's  last  instruc- 
tions to,  280-2  ;  lieutenant  of 
England,  114,  126,  165,  193, 
260  ;  naval  victory,  182,  184  ; 
Oldcastle  examined  before, 
102  ;  parentage,  36  ;  Paris 
entry  of  Henry  V  attended, 
245 ;  queen  Katherine  es- 
corted to  France,  275  ;  Scot- 
tish invasion  opposed,  101  ; 
treaty  of  Troyes  sealed  in 
presence  of,  232 ;  work  of 
Henry  V  maintained,  216, 
285,  301  :  youthful  escapades, 
49,  73,  80 

Benedict  XI,  pope,  169 

Benedict  XIII,  pope,  171,  173 

Berkeley,  lord,  115 

Bernay,  323 

Berry,  duke  of.  113 

Berwick,  near  Shrewsbury,  27  n. 

Bethencourt,  ford,  145 

Bethime,  river,  139 

Beverley,  254,  324 

Bibliography,  325-30 

Bigorre,  113 

Bishops,  election  of,  166 

Black  Book  oj  the  Admiralty/,  326 

Blackheath.  162,  178 

Blanchard,  .\lan,  211 


See 


of 


of 


134, 


Blanche tatjue,    ford    of,     140-1, 

322 
Blangy,  148 
Blaye,  306 
Blythe,  321 
Boar's   Head,    Eastcheap 

London,  Boar's  Head 
Bohun,    Hxiinphrey   de,    earl   of 

Hereford.    See  Hereford 
Bohtm,    Mary    de,    countess 

Derby.    See  Derby 
Bohim,    Mary    de,    countess 

Hereford.    See  Hereford 
Boke  named  the  Gouvernour,  11 
Boniface  VIII.  pope,  169 
Booty,  119-20 
Bordeaux,  55 
Boston,  123 
Boucicault,   naarshal,    131, 

163 
Bourbon,  duke  of,  146,  159 
Bourges,  214,  296 
Bourges,  archbishop  of,  115-16 
Boves,  142 

Bracquemont,  admiral  de,  230 
Bramham  Moor,  34,  76  n. 
Bray,  226,  239,  324 
Bresle,  river,  140 
Bretigny,    treaty   of,    112,    179, 

216,  221,  305 
Brie,  266 

Bristol,  11,  121,  123 
Brittany,    112,    196,    202,    289, 

296,  306 
Brittany,     duchess     of  :      Joan, 

see  Joan,  queen  of   England  ; 

duke  of,  202,  216,  220,  328 
Buch,   Gaston  de    Foix,   captal 

de.     See  Foix 
Buchan.  earl  of,  256 
Burgundians     and     AiTuagnacs, 

19,  43-6,  50-6,  109-10,  174-5, 

198,   204,  208,  214-15.  244-5, 

247-8,  315 
Burgmidy,  county  of,  187,  296 
Burgundy,  duchy  of,  187,  296 
Burgundy,    dukes    of  :     Charles 

the  Bold,  108  ;    John,  "  Sans 

Peur,"  burial,  239;  daughter's 

inarriage    to    Henry    V    sug- 


INDEX 


833 


geated,  51  ;  dauphin's  nego- 
tiations witli,  223-7  ;  fiefs, 
142,  166,  186-7  ;  murder  at 
Montereau,  226-8,  245-6, 
271,  312  ;  negotiations  with 
Henry  V,  109-10,  184-7,  196, 
218-23,  225;  Orleans  op- 
posed and  murdered,  44-5  ; 
peace  mth  Orleanists,  112  ; 
pedigree,  108  ;  ravaging  of 
royal  domain  by,  174-5  ; 
Rouen's  reliance  on,  205,  208- 
10,  218  ;  royal  power  of 
France  in  hands  of,  198.  202, 
204,  208,  214,  218-27;  St. 
Cloud  battle  against  Or- 
leanists, 52-3  ;  Philip  "  the 
Good"  (count  of  Charolais), 
dominions,  296,  306  ;  French 
towns  besieged,  238-41 ;  fune- 
ral of  Henry  V  attended, 
285  ;  Gloucester's  insolence 
to,  185-6  ;  Henry  V's  death- 
bed wishes  regarding,  282  ; 
at  Mantes,  263  ;  Paris  en- 
tered with  Henry  V,  243,  245  ; 
pedigree,  108  ;  Shakespeare's 
presentation  of,  70  ;  territo- 
ries invaded,  277-8  ;  treat;/ 
of  Troyes  negotiated,  228-9 ; 
231-3,  236  ;  Philip  ^'  le  Hardi," 
43-4,  108-9 

Burton-on-Trent,  321 

Byzantine  emperor,  289 

Caen,  197-203,  303,  323,  329 
Calais,   90,    115,   138,    161,    176, 

184-7,  249-50,  262,  285,'  299, 

300,  305,  322,  324 
Calais,  Pale  of,  179 
Calvados,  197 
Cambridge,  countess  of  :    Anne, 

107  ;   earl  of,  Richard,  100-1, 

107,  109,  124-6 
Camoys,  lord,  152 
Canche,  river,  147 
Canterbury,   91,    115,    123,    162, 

178,  182,  184,  250,  252,  321-2, 

324 
Canterbury,      archbishops      of  : 


Arundel,  Thomas.  12,  43, 
46-7,  54,  89,  95-8  ;  Chichele, 
Hemy.  114-16,  162.  178.  211, 
217,  232 

Cany,  battle  of,  181 

Capgrave,  J.,  327 

Cardigan,  29 

Carew,  lord,  28 

Carmarthen,  28-30 

Carnarvon,  castle,  14,  25,  29 

Castile,  230 

Catherine,  queen  of  Castile,  41 

Catherine  (of  France),  queen  of 
England,  betrothal,  232-3  ; 
contract  of  marriage,  233-4  ; 
coronation,  252  ;  French 
visits,  275,  277,  285  ;  funeral 
procession  of  Henry  V  met  by, 
285  ;  interview  with  Henry  V, 
220-3  ;  left  in  England,  260  ; 
London  entry,  252  ;  marriage 
solemnised,  238  ;  negotia- 
tions for  marriage,  46,  113, 
153,  218.  223,  228  ;  progress 
through  Englajad,  254  ;  Shake- 
speare's presentation  of,  69- 
70  ;  son  born  to,  267  ; 
stay  at  Villeneuve-le-roi,  238  ; 
Windsor  visit,  254 

Catherine  of  Siena,  St.,  170 

Caudebec,  208,  212,  324 

Champagne,  225,  261 

Charentan,  231,  278 

Charles  IV,  emperor,  167 

Charles  IV,  king  of  France,  107 

Charles  V.  king  of  France,  107-8 

Charles  VI,  king  of  France : 
Armagnacs  and  Burgundians 
reconciled,  55,  112  ;  Burgun- 
dians' control  of,  1417,  204, 
215,  219,  229  ;  claim  to 
French  crown,  107-8  ;  inter- 
view with  Henry  V,  230-1  ; 
madness,  44,  46,  51,  108-9  ; 
meagre  household  of,  275-6  ; 
Orleanists  favoured,  109  ; 
Paris  entered  with  Henry  V, 
244-5  ;  provisions  of  treaty 
of  Troyes  regarding,  233-6  ; 
Sigismund's  failure  to  mediate 


334 


HENRY    V 


botwoen  Henry  V  and,  183  ; 
treaty  of  'rrf)yes  Hcei^pltHl. 
23U-1,  246;  witli  EiiKlif^li 
army,  238-9,  243 

Charles  VI,  Hintoire  de,  327 

Charles  Vll,  king  of  France  (the 
Dauphin  Charles),  Burgundy's 
negotiations  with  and  death, 
223-8  ;  campaign  against, 
1420,  238-43  ;  character, 
215  ;  disinherited  by  Estates 
General,  24t)  ;  escape  to 
Molun.  204  ;  judged  in  Parle- 
ment  of  Paris,  240  ;  military 
operations.  1421,  250-7,  201-2, 
271,  310  ft.  ;  negotiations  with 
Henry  V,  210-20  ;  pedigree, 
107-8  ;  possessions  at  death 
of  Henry  V,  290-7,  300  ; 
rally  round,  214-15  ;  recovery 
of  power,  249  ;  treaty  of 
Troyes's  provisions  against, 
236 

Charles  VII,  Histoire  de,  329 

Charles  of  Valoi§,  French  prince, 
107-8 

Cliarolais,  count  of,  Philip.  See 
Burgundy,  dukes  of,  E'hilip 
■'  the  Good,"  duke  of 

Chartres,  201-2,  310  /(.,  324 

Chastellain,  Georges.  327 

Chateau  Gaillard,  213 

Chaucer.  Thomas,  258 

Chef  de  Caux,  128 

Cherbourg,  203,  208 

Chertsey,  321 

Chester,  13,  25 

Chichele,  Henry,  archbishop  of 
Canterbury.      See  Canterbury 

Chronicle  of  London,  A,  327 

Clironicles  of  the  reign  of  Henry 
V,  320-8 

Chronique  d" Arthur  de  Eiche- 
mont,  Connetable  de  France, 
Due  de  Bretagne,  328 

Chronique  de  Normandie,  326 

Church,  A.  J.,  329 

Church  of  England,  47,  91-5. 
104-5,  166-7,  302-3 

Cinque  Ports,  121,  192 


Civil  List.  90 

Clarence,  dukes  of  :  liionel,  90, 
107  ;  Tlioinas,  advance  to 
Paris,  225  ;  birth,  5 ;  Cam- 
bridge, Scrope  and  Grey  tried 
by,  126  ;  character,  35-0  ; 
created  duke,  55  ;  death, 
257-8  ;  emperor  entertained, 
178  ;  expedition  to  France, 
55-0  ;  French  envoys  re- 
ceived, 115;  Harflevu"  sur- 
render negotiated,  132  ;  ill- 
ness involving  absence  from 
Agincourt.  137  ;  lieutenant  of 
France  and  Normandy,  247-8. 
255-7  ;  military  contract. 
118;  Paris  under  command  of, 
244-5  ;  share  in  conquest  of 
Normandy.  193,  198,  200,  206; 
Troyes  negotiations  attended, 
221,  232  ;  youthful  escapades, 
49,  73,  80 

Clarence,  Philippa  of,  90,  107 

Clement  V,  pope,  170 

Clement  VII,  pope,  170 

Clun,  13 

Cobham,  baroness,  90  ;  lord, 
Oldcastle,  Sir  John.  *SVe  Old- 
castle 

Coinage,  French,  246-7,  276  ; 
Norman,  308 

Coldharbour,  Eastcheap.  See 
London,  Heralds'  college 

Cole,  C.  A.,  326 

Colomia,  Otho.  See  Martin  V, 
pope 

Compiegne.  276,  324 

Constance.  Council  of,  172-4, 
174  ft.,  187 

Constance  of  Castile,  duchess  of 
Lancaster.     See  Lancaster 

Conway,  castle,  14,  21,  25 

Cooling  castle,  97 

Corbeil,  239,  278,  278  n.,  324 

Corbie,  142 

Corday,  Raoul  de,  309 
I   Cornwall.  John,  145 
1   Cosne.  277-8 

Cossa,  Baldassare.  See  John 
XXIII,  pope 


INDEX 


335 


Cotentin,  r,'..  IOC,  203 

( 'ournio,  202 

C^ourttield,  4 

Coventry,  324  ;   priory,  78-9 

Crocy,  2()4 

Crown  jewels,  122.  124 

Dante,  167 

Dartford,  178,  321 

Dauphin.  See  Louis,  dauphin, 
.  and  Charles  VII, king  of  France 

Dauphinist  party,  214-17,  221, 
225-8,  230,  234,  238-tl.  248-9, 
2r)5  -0.  261-74.  276-7 

Davies,  J.  S.,  327 

Dax,  306 

De  Lettenliove,  Kervyn,  327 

Derby,  counttisa  of  :  Mary  (do 
Boinin),  mother  of  Henry  V, 
3-5 

Dea  Ursins,  J.  J.,  327 

Dieppe,  139,  212 

Dijon,  239 

Dillon,  viscount,  326 

Dordrecht,  187 

Dorset,  earl  of  :  Beaufort, 
Tliomns,  duke  of  Exetor, 
iielped  to  relieve  Cosne  (Bur- 
giuidy),  278 ;  chancellor,  47; 
Charles  VI  in  care  of,  247  ; 
Chateau  Gaillard  blockaded. 
213  ;  created  duke  of  Exeter, 
190;  embassy  to  Paris,  111- 
14  :  Harfleur  under  command 
of,  [36,  160,  175,  180-1,  190; 
Heniy  V's  death-bed  and 
fimeral  attended,  281,  285  ; 
Meaux  siege  conducted  by, 
266,  268  ;  parentage,  41  ; 
Rouen  siege  assisted,  205-6  ; 
Scottish  invasion  repelled,  101 

Douglas,  earl  of.  25,  27,  101 

Dover,  115,  161-2.  178.  184, 
250-1,  260,  322,  324 

Dreux,  262-3,  324 

Dryhiu'St,  Henry,  1 1 

Du  Chastel,  Tanneguy,  214,  227 

Du  Fresne  de  Beaucourt,  G.,  329 

Dukes,  terms  of  military  service, 
118-19 


Dupont.  Mile.,  328 

Durham,    bishop    of.    110.    112. 

114. 258 
Dysentery.  131,  264 

Earls,  terms  of  military  service, 

118-19 
Eaulne,  river,  139 
Edeyrnion,  Commote  of,  22 
Edward  II,  king  of  England,  80, 

107 
Edward   III,    king   of  England, 

105-7,  293 
Edward    (the    Black)    Princn   of 

Wales.  107 
Ellis,  H.,  326-8 
Elmharn.  Thomas  of.  71.  .126 
Eltham.  99.  162.  250,  252.  322 
Elyot.  Sir  Thomas,  77 
Emperor     of     the     east.       See 

Byzantine  emperor 
Empire,  Medieval  Roman,  167- 

9,     172,     177,     183  ;     for    the 

emperor  Sigismund  see  Sigis- 

mund 
England,  condition  under  Henry 

IV,    287-90  ;     restoration    oi'. 

under  Henry  V,  290-320 
English    Chronicle,     JS77-14(^J, 

An,  327 
English  Historical  Literalure  in 

the  Eifteenth  Century,  325 
Esquires,      terms      of     military 

service,  118-19 
Estates  general  of  France,  245— 

7,  249,  307 
Estouteville,    Seigneur   d\    129, 

132 
Eterville,  197 
Etrepagny,  212 
Eu,  140,  212,  322 
Evreux,  212,  323-4 
Exeter,        dukes  :  Beaufort, 

Thomas,   earl   of    Dorset,   see 

Dorset.      Holland,  John,  earl 

of  Huntingdon,  see  Hunting- 
don 

Fabyan,  R.,  71,  328 
Falaise,  201,  203,  323 


386 


HENRY   V 


Falataff,  Sir  John,  62-3,  73-5 

Famous  Victories  oj  HeJiry  the 
Fijth,  The,  72 

Fastolf .  Sir  Jolin,  74-5,  300 

Fauquembergh,  count  of,  ir)8 

Faversham,  321 

Fecamp,  324 

Fenin,  Me'moires  cle  Pierre  de, 
328 

Ferrers,  Joan,  lady,  41 

Feudal  levy,  117 

First  English  Life  of  King  Henry 
the  Fijth,  71,  73,  83,  85,  328 

Flanders,  51,  112,  UUi,  187,  217, 
29(> 

Flint.  11,  14,  25 

Foedera,  Rymer's.  See  Rymer's 
Foedera 

Foix,  count  of,  248 

Foix,  Gaston  de,  captal  de  Buch, 
224 

Forced  loans,  123 

France,  appointments  made  by 
Henry  V  in,  325  ;  Burgundian 
and  Armagnac  disputes,  19, 
43-6,  50-6,  109-10,  174-5, 
198,  204,  208,  214-15,  244-5, 
247-8,  315  ;  claim  of  English 
kings  to  crown  of,  105-7,  110— 
12,293;  coinage,  246-7,  276; 
Dauphinist  successes,  1421, 
254-7  ;  division  prevented  by 
death  of  Henry  V,  295-7  ; 
English  power  at  its  height  in, 
243-9,  295,  305-9  ;  estates 
general,  245-7;  249,  307  ;  fleet 
sent  against  English  coast, 
181  ;  invasions  by  the  Eng- 
hsh,  128-61,  180-2,  191-213, 
238-44,  254-7,  261-74; 
mediation  of  Sigismund  in 
English  war,  173-5,  179-85  ; 
negotiations  with  England. 
1414,  110,  112-16;  papal  de- 
pendence on,  91,  169-70  ;  tax- 
ation, 247  ;  territory  acknow- 
ledging Dauphin  1420,  238  ; 
Troyes  treaty,  214-37;  Welsh 
rebels  aided,  28  n.,  30 

France,  Isle  of,    175,   212.   214, 


225,  230,  244,  262-3,  265,  295, 

309,  328 
French  Rolls,  Calendar  njfhe,  325 
Frevent,  147 
Fronsac,  306 

Gabelle,  309 

Galardon,  264 

Garter,  Order  of  the,  179 

Gascoigne,  Sir  William,  chief 
justice.  50,  76  n.,  80,  89,  330 

Gast,  Louis,  272 

Gaueourt,  Seigneur.  129.  132     , 

Gaunt,  John  of.  iVce  John  of 
Gaimt 

Genoa,  181-2,  193,  196 

George,  St.,  180 

Geschichte  Kaiser  Sigmunds,  329 

Gesta  Henrici  Quinti,  326 

Gisors,  225,  228,  323 

Glendower,  Owen,  15-17,  20-33 

Gloucester,  dukes  of  :  Hum- 
phrey (d.  1399),  10-11: 
Hiunphrey  (d.  1447),  char- 
acter, 36  ;  created  duke  of 
Gloucester,  109  ;  Dreux  cap- 
tured, 263  ;  emperor  received, 
178  ;  French  envoys  received, 
115;  Henry  V's  influence 
over,  301  ;  hostage  in  Bur- 
gundy. 185-7  ;  Norman  ex- 
pedition shared,  193, 203, 208; 
return  to  France,  260  ;  Titus 
Livius  patronised,  64  ;  Troyes 
negotiations  attended,  221  ; 
warden  of  England,  232,  282  ; 
wounded  at  Agincourt,  158-9  : 
Thomas  of  Woodstock,  5,  10 

Glyndowrdy,  21-2 

Godefroy,  327 

Golden  Bull,  167 

Goodwin,  T.,  329 

Graville  priory,  129 

Gregory  XI,  pope,  170 

Gregory  XII,  pope,  171,  173 

Grentheville,  197 

Grey,  lord,  Richard,  111 

Grey,  Sir  Thomas,  100,  125-6 

Grey  of  Ruthin,  lord,  16-17, 
22-3,  115 


INDEX 


337 


Gi'osmont,  30 

Gruel,  Guillaume,  328 

Guienne,  90,  153,  170,  293,  295, 

306 
Guienne  Herald,  134 
Guildford,  321-2 

Hakevyle,  Seigneur  de,  133 

Hall,  E.,  Chronicle  of,  328 

Halle,  castle,  Brabant,  44 

Hankeford,  Sir  William,  89 

Harborough,  Market,  321 

Hardy,  E.  L.  C.  P.,  327 

Hardy,  W.,  327 

Hardyng.  John,  327 

Harfleur,  Armagnacs  attempt  to 
recover,  175,  lSO-2  ;  cession 
demanded  by  Henry  V,  179  ; 
colonisation,  134  ;  Dorset  in 
command  at.  130  ;  naval 
fights  off,  182,  184,  193; 
position,  128 ;  Queen  KatJi- 
erine  lands  at,  275  ;  raids 
from,  166,  180-1  ;  siege, 
124,  128-34,  173,  322;  sur- 
render offered  by  Henry  V, 
153  ;  truce  providing  for  siu*- 
render  to  neutrals,  180  ;  visits 
of  Henry  V  to,  322,  324 

Harlech,  castle,  14,  22,  29. 
32-3 

Havre-de-Grace,  129 

Hayteley  Field,  27-8 

Heame.  T.,  32<) 

Helly,  lord  of,  154 

Heniey,  321 

Henry  VII,  emperor.  167 

Henry  IV,  king  of  England, 
character,  3,  34  ;  claim  to 
Frencli  crown,  107  ;  crusades, 
5  ;  death,  58-9.  84  ;  England's 
condition  under,  18,  287-90  ; 
exile,  10  ;  French  policy,  46, 
50-6;  funeral,  91;  health, 
2-3,  34-5,  37,  39,  58  ;  king- 
dom seized  by,  10-11  ; 
Northern  rebels  defeated, 
26-9  ;  Owen  Glondower  a 
companion  of,  1 6  ;  parentage, 
41  ;  rebellion  against,  in  1399, 


12-13  ;  sons  of^  35-6;  Welsh 
expeditions,  17,  21-2,  24 
Henry  V,  king  of  England,  ac- 
cession, 86-102  ;  Agincourt 
campaign,  128-61  ;  appear- 
ance, 9,  86-7  ;  appointments 
in  France  made  by,  325  ; 
assassination  plot  against, 
56-7  ;  birth,  2-4  ;  Bui'gun- 
dians  supported,  46,  51-4,  56  ; 
Calais  visit,  1416,  184-7,  322  ; 
captain  of  Calais,  48,  56  ; 
character,  2,  35,  37-40,  49-50, 
57-8,  60-88,  190-1,  297-304, 
320  ;  claim  to  French  crown, 
10.5-7,  110-12,  293;  corona- 
tion, 89  ;  daily  life,  189-90  ; 
death,  283-4  ;  Eastcheap 
residence,  48  ;  education 
5-11  ;  emperor's  alliance 
with,  176-85.  190,  100;  final 
instructions,  280-3  ;  French 
pohcy,  103-8  ;  fimeral,  284-6; 
generalship,  194-6,  309-16  ; 
Gisors  besieged,  225,  228  ; 
lieight  of  power,  248-9  ;  ill- 
ness, 276-80  ;  imprisoned  at 
Trim,  10-11  ;  Irish  visit, 
1399,  9-11  ;  itinerary,  321-4  ; 
knighted,  9  ;  last  expedition, 
261-74  ;  Lollard  poKcy,  46-7, 
49,  95.  97-100  ;  London  entry 
after  Agincourt,  162-4  ;  mar- 
riage, 46,  51,  69,  113,  153,  218, 
228.  238 ;  Normandv  cam- 
paign, 1417,  191-213;  Nor- 
man gentlemen  and  religious 
houses  given  letters  of  con- 
firmation by.  325  ;  papal 
policjs  106-7,  176.  188; 
parentage,  2-3  ;  Paris  visits, 
243-8,  263,  275-6,  324; 
patriotism,  316  ;  president  of 
the  Council,  48 ;  prince  of 
Wales,  12  ;  reception  in 
England  after  trcat3'  of 
Troyes,  251-4  ;  Shrewsbury 
victory  slia,red  ))y,  26-S  ; 
sieges  of  1!20.  238-43  ;  sources 
for'  history    of,    71-3,    77-80, 


838 


IIENRV 


325-30  ;      treaty    of    'J'royea 
negotiations,  214-24,  22S-.S:i 
^''•ySf'  to  Franco,  Hla,  127-9 
Welsh  war,   J  3-33,  07-8,  76 
will,  126  ;   work,  287-320 

TIenry  VI,  kincr  of  Englrtnd.  207, 
275,  282-3 

Henry  oj  Monmouth,  329 

Hereford,  13 

Hereford,  bishop  of,  123 

Hereford,  countess  of,  4  ;  earl 
of,  48 

Heretics,  48-9,  94-5,  102  n.,  173, 
303.    ^^ee  also  Lollards 

Herrings,  battle  of  the.  Sec 
Roiivray,  battle  of 

Hertford,  castle,  321-2 

Hingeston,  F.  C,  327 

Hintoria  Anglicana  of  Walsing- 
ham,  326 

History  of  England  under  Henry 
2F,  329 

History  of  the  Royal  Navy,  329 

Holinahed,  R.,  Chronicles,  71, 328 

Holland,  114,  120-1,  193 

Holland,  William,  count  of,  180 

Holland,  John,  earl  of  Hunting- 
don.   See  Huntingdon 

Homildon  Hill,  battle  of,  24-5 

Honfleur,  212 

Hope,  W.  H.  St.  John,  326 

Hornsby,  John,  78 

Hotspur.    See  Percy,  Henry 

Howden,  257,  324 

Howell,  David,  125 

Howes.  E.,  328 

Hungary,  168-9 

Hungerford,  Sir  Walter,  149 

Hiuitingdon.  earl  of :  Holland, 
John"(d.  1400),  191  ;  Holland, 
John  (duke  of  Exeter),  191, 
193,  206-7 

Huss,  John,  173 

Iiidentures    for    raising    troops, 

118-20 
Ipswich,  123 
Ireland,  9,  90 
Irish  soldiers  in  French  om])loy, 

269,271.273 


Isabella    (of   France),   queen   of 

England,  wife  of  Edward  II, 

105-7 
Isabella    (of    France),    queen    of 

England,  wife  of  Richard  II. 

45 
Isabella,  queen  of  France,  204, 

220-2,  231-4.  241,  275.  277 

James  I,  king  of  Scotland.    19, 

193,  240,  260,  263,  285 
Joan,  queen  of  England,  210 
John  XXIII.  pope,  172-4 
John,  king  of  Bohemia,  167 
John,  king  of  France.  43,  107-8, 

112-13 
John  of  Gaunt,  3,  4.  7,  36,  41.  91. 

107,318 
Joigny,  262,  265,  324 
Judicial  administration,  287-8 

Katherine.    See  Catherine 

Kenilworth,  191,  321-2 

Kennington,  321 

King  Henry  the  Fifth,  play.  61. 
65,  69-70 

King  Henry  the  Fourth,  play, 
61-9 

Kingeford,  C.  L.,  325,  328-30 

Kingston,  321 

Knight  (chevalier),  terms  of 
military  service  for,  118-19 

Knight  banneret,  terms  of  mili- 
tary service  for,  118-19 

Konig  Sigismund  und  Heinrich 
der  Filnfte  von  England,  329 

"  La  Gabriell  de  la  Toure,"  ship. 
121 

Lagny,  225,  324 

La  Hire  [Etienne  de  Vignolles], 

French  captain,  215,  261 
La  Hogue,  55 
"  La  Katerine  de  la  Toure,"  ship, 

121 
Lambeth,  166,  178,  324 
Lancaster,  duchesses  of :  Blanche, 

41  ;   Constance  of  Castile,  41  ; 

duke   of,   John    of  Ciaunt,  see 

Jolni  of  daunt 


INDEX 


339 


Lancasttr  and  York,  329 

Langley,  King's,  99,  321 

Languedoc,  248 

"  La  petite  Marie  de  la  Toure," 
ship,  121 

"  La  petite  Trinite  de  la  Toure," 
ship,  121 

La  Reole,  306 

La  Rochelle,  230,  250  n. 

"  La  rude  Cog  de  la  Toure,"  ship, 
121 

"  La  Trinite  Royale,"  ship,  121 

Lavisse,  E.,  329 

Le  Bouteiller,  Guy,  205,  212,  218 

Le  Clerc,  Jean,  240 

Lectoure,  113 

Leeds,  castle,  97,  181 

Le  Fevre,  Jean,  Seigneur  de 
Saint-Remy,  151,  328 

Leicester,  104,  109-10,  254,  321, 
324 

Uemigratio'n  normande  et  la 
colonisation  anglaise  en  Nor- 
tnandie  an  15  Siecle,  329 

Lenz,  M.,  329 

Letters  Illustrative  of  Enyllsh 
History,  Original,  326 

Le  Vavasseur,  A.,  328 

Lewis  of  Bavaria,  count  Pala- 
tine, 241 

Lezarde,  river,  129,  139 

Liber  de  Illustribus  Henricis,  327 

Liber  Metricus  de  Henrico 
Quinto,  326 

Libourne.  306 

Lillebonne.  134,  212 

Lincoln,  324 

Lincoln,  bishop  of,  123 

Lisieux,  202,  323 

Lisieux,  bishop  of,  115 

L'Isle-Adam,  Seigneur  do,  129, 
204,  224 

Lollards,  47,  91-102,  125,  303 

London,  Boar's  Head,  East- 
cheap,  70,  72-3  ;  chronicle  of, 
327  ;  entry  of  Henry  V  after 
Agincourt,  1G2-4  ;  funeral  of 
Henry  V,  285  ;  Heralds' 
college,  48  ;  <jUoen  Katherino's 
entry,  252  ;    St.  Giles'  Field, 


99-100, 100  n.,  102 ;  Si.  Paul's, 
97,  163  ;  ships  to  be  brought 
to,  120-2  ;  Smithiield,  49  ; 
supplies  sent  to  Rouen  army, 
208;  Tower,  97-8,  321 ;  West- 
minster.    See  V^estminster 

London,  bishop  of,  188 

Longnon,  A.,  326 

Lords  Marcher,  14-15 

Louis  X,  king  of  France,  107 

Louis  XI,  king  of  France,  108 

Louis,  dauphin,  133-5,  174 

Louviers.  203,  323 

Ludlow,  13 

Luxembourg,  house  of,  167 

Lynet,  Robert  de,  211 

Maine,  112,  217,  238,  295 
Maisonceiles,  150,  154-5,  159-60 
Malatesta,  Carlo,  173 
Malvern,  101 
Malyn,  Nicholas  de,  123 
Manduyt,  Nicholas,  121 
Mantes,  192,  212,  224,  228,  230, 

263,  311,  314,  323-4 
Manuel    Palseologus,   Byzantine 

emperor,  289 
March,    comitess    of  :     Piiilippa 

(of   Clarence),   90,    107 ;    earla 

of,    23  ;     Mortimer,  Edmund 

(mariied  Philippa  of  Clarence), 

107  ;    Mortimer.  Edmund   {d. 

1424),    24,    90-1,    95,    106-7, 

125-6,    137,   293  ;     Mortimer, 

Roger,  23,  107 
March,  Welsh.    See  Welsh  March 
Marie,  count  of,  158 
Marshal,  the  Earl,  206 
Martin  V,  pope,  187-8,  203 
Mary    de    Bohun,    countess    of 

Derby,   mother   of   Henry   V. 

See  Derby 
Meaux,   238,   262,   265-74,   303, 

310,313,316,324 
Meaux,  bishop  of,  304 
Melan,  Paul  de,  123 
Mehui,  204,  224,  238-4:5,  278  n., 

312,  324 
Memorials   of   Hennj   the    Fijth, 

320 


340 


HENRY    V 


Men-at-arms,  IIS,  193 

Mertoii,  321 

Meulan,  220 

Mezy,  220 

Michaud,  J.  F.,  327 

Military    service.      See    Feudal 

levy 
Monmouth,  castle,  2,  4,  13 
Monstrelet,  Enguerrand  de,  327 
Montereau,  226-7,  238-9,  324 
Montgomery,  13 
Mont  St.  Michel,  France,  213 
Morand,  F.,  328 
Morgan,  Philip,  309 
Morley,  lord,  115 
Moroaval,  324 
Mortimer,  Aime,  107 
Mortimer,      Edinund,      earl      of 

March.    See  March 
Mortimer,  Sir  Edmund,  23,  24, 

30   33 
Mortiake,  37,  322 
Munimenta  Academica,  325 

Navailles,  seigneur  de,  227 

Navy,  114,  120-2,  127,  181-2, 
184,  192-3,  207,  230,  288-9, 
291,  3(26,  329 

Nemours,  324 

Nesle,  144 

Neufbaiu'g,  323 

Neville,  Joan,  41 

Neville,  Ralph,  41 

Newark,  324 

Newcastle,  121 

Newport,  13 

Nicolas,  N.  H..  325,  327,  329 

Nicopolis,  battle  of,  168 

Nogent,  112,  231,  264 

Normandy,  alienated  by  English 
misrule,  299  ;  Bedford's  gov- 
ernment, 301  ;  cession  de- 
manded by  England,  111-12, 
115  ;  conquest,  190-213,  217- 
18,  221,  225,  229-30,  235,  248, 
293,  295,  300,  309  ;  held  by 
Armagnac,  175  ;  Henry  V's 
system  of  government  for, 
307-9  ;  invasion  by  English, 
1415,   128-40  ;    Isle  of  Wight 


attacked  by  adventurers 
from,  289  ;  last  wishes  of 
Henry  V  regarding,  282  ; 
L^ emigration  iionnandz  et  la 
colonisation  anglaise  en  Nor- 
mandie,  329  ;  letters  of  con- 
firmation to  gentlemen  and 
reUgious  houses  of,  325  ;  raids 
by  Dorset,  166,  180 

Norman  Rolls,  Calendar  of  the, 
325 

Northumberland,  earls  of  : 
Percy,  Henry  (d.  1408),  24-7, 
29-31,  33  ;  Percy,  Henry  (d. 
1455),  166,  255 

Norwich,  bishop  of,  110,  112, 
122,  137 

Noye,  river,  142 

Offemont,  lord  of,  268,  273 

Oldcastle,  Sir  John,  52,  74-6, 
96-102,  125,  191 

Oleron,  113 

Oman,  C,  330 

Orleans,  265,  296 

Orleans,  duchess  of  :  Isabella, 
see  Isabella  (of  France),  queen 
of  England.  Dukee  of  : 
Charles,  45,  55,  108-9,  112, 
146, 159-61,  282;  Louis,  44-5, 
108-9 

Ormonde,  earl  of,  71,  73,  328 

O springe,  321 

Oxford,  7-8,  46-7,  325 

Page,  Jolm,  327 

Pageant  of  the  Birth,  Life,  and 
Death  of  Richard  Beauchajnp, 
Earl  of  Warwick,  326 

Palatine,  count,  241 

Papacy,  91-2,  166,  169-74,  176, 
183, 187-8 

Paris,  administrativo  system 
under  Henry  V,  307  ;  Bur- 
gundian  reign  of  terror,  1417, 
204  ;  Burgundy  in  arms  be- 
fore, 1417,  198  ;  centre  of 
Enghsh  dominion  in  France, 
295,  305  ;  dauphinist  threat 
to,     261-2  ;      English     troops 


INDEX 


341 


before,  52-3,  224-5,  230-1  ; 
Henry  Vs  visits  to,  243-8, 
263,  275-6.  324  ;  Hotel  St. 
Pol,  245-7  ;  Louvre,  245,  247  ; 
Meaux  prisoners  executed  at, 
272  ;  Melun  garrison  sent  to, 
243  ;  Orleanist  ascendancy  in, 
109  ;  Parlenient,  see  Parle- 
ment ;  Sigisniund's  visit  to, 
174—5  ;  supplies  sent  to 
English  army,  266 

Paris,  Journal  d'un  Bourgeois 
dc,  328 

Paris,  Un  Journal  de,  328 

Paris  pendant  la  dmnination 
Amjlaisc.  326 

Parlement  of  Paris,  234,  245-6, 
307 

Parliament,  Henry  IV  elected 
king  by,  11  ;  Henry  Vs  par- 
liaments :  1413,  89-91  ;  1414, 
104,  109,  111;  1415,  165; 
1416,  166,  178-9,  190;  1421, 
258-60 

Parnan,  264 

Patay,  battle  of,  74 

Patent  Rolls.  Cale)idar  oj  the,  325 

Patriotism,  316-10 

Peniscola,  174 

Percies,  rebellion  of  the,  24-31 

Percy,  Henry  (Hotspur),  21, 
24-8,  66-8,"  76 

Percy,  Henry,  earl  of  Northum- 
berland.   See  Northumberland 

Percy,  Sir  Thomas,  earl  of 
Worcester.    See  Worcester 

Perigord,  113 

Peronne,  147,  322 

Perpignan,  173-4 

Peterborough,  321 

Phihp  III,  khig  of  France,  107 

Philip  IV,  king  of  France,  105, 
107,  169 

Philip  V,  king  of  France,  107 

Philip  VI,  king  of  France,  105-8 

Picardy,  140,  261 

Piracy,  288,  291 

Pisa,  Council  of,  1409,  171 

Plymouth,  289 

Poins,  62 


Poitou,  179 

Political  History  oj  England,  330 
Political  Poems  and  Songs,  327 
Ponceau-Saint-Denis,  224 
Pont  de  I'Arche,  204-5,  323 
Pontefract,  castle,  11,  101 
Ponthieu,  153,  179,  221 
Pontoise,  224-5,  230,  323-4 
Pontoons,  204 
Pont  Remy,  141 
Porchester,  322-3 
Portland,  Isle  of ,  181 
Portsmouth,  122,  127,  181,  259, 

322—3 
Portugal,  207 
Poujoulat,  J.  J.  F.,  327 
Poultney,  family,  48 
Powis,  lord,  102,  115 
Powys,  22 

Prague,  University  of,  107 
Prignano,     Bartholomew.       See 

Urban  VI,  pope 
Priories,  alien,  104-5,  303 
Prise  de  Caen,  329 
Prisoners  of  war,  119-20 
Privy  Council  of  England,  Pro- 

ceedings  and  Ordinances  oj  the, 

325 
Provence,  112 
Provence,  count  of,  170 
Proving,  226,  231 
Puiseux,  L.,  329 

Quercy,  113 

Ramsay,  Sir  J.  H.,  329 

Ravenspur,  10 

Reading,  322 

Receuil  des  croniques  et  anchiennes 

istories  de  la  Grant  Bretaignc  a 

present  nomme  Englel.rre,  327 
Redmayne.  Robert,  78,  326 
Reign  of  Henry   the    Fijth,  The, 

329 
Rcligieux  de  Saint-Denys,  Chro- 

nique  du,  327 
Revenue,  expedients  to  finance 

French      war.      111,      122-4; 

grants  of    1414,    111  ;    grants 

of  1421,  258-60 


;3i2 


HENRY    V 


Rheims,  arclibishop  of,  178,  185 
Richard  II,  5,  7-13,  24,  27,  51, 

91,  96,  99,  101-2,  107 
Richemont,  count  of,  150 
Riley,  H.  T.,  326 
Robert  III,  king  of  Scotland,  19 
Rochelle.    See  La  Rochelle 
Rochester,  178,  321  ;    cathedral, 

97 
Roelt,    Catherine.       See    Swyn- 

ford,  Catherine 
Rokeby,  Sir  Thomas,  33 
Rolls  of  Parliament,  325 
Rome.  170 
Rotherhitlie,  322 
Rouen,    131,    195-6.    202,    204, 

228-30.  248-9,  275,  295,  307- 

8,  323-4  ;   siege,  204-12,  218- 

19,  285,  303 
Rouen,  Siege  oj,  327 
Rouergue,  113 

Rougemont.  castle  (France),  265 
Rouvray,  battle  of,  74 
Roxburgh,  castle,  101 
Ruisseauville,  150 
Ruthille,    castle    (France),   266, 

324  n. 
Rutland,  earl  of,  12 
Rymer's  Foedera,  325 

Saghern.  21 

St.  Albans.  99.  101,  321 

St.  Andrc-de-Fonteniiy.  197 

St.  Cloud,  battle  of,  52-3 

St.  Denis,  175,  225,  231 

St.   John,   prior  of   hospital   of, 

114-15 
St.  Neots,  322 
St.  Omer,  185 
Saintonge,  113 
St.  Peter  supra  Uivam.  323 
Sh.  I'haron,  abbey  (Franco),  266 
St.  Pharon,  324 
Saintrailles,  Pothon  de,  215 
St.    Remv,    French    chronicler, 

151.  328 
St.  Sever,  306 
Salisbury,  322 
Salisbury,  bishop  uf.  174  ». 
Salisbury,  earl  of,  200,  300 


Sandwich,  120-3,  184,  322 

Sauvage,  — ,  327 

Schism,  the  Great,  166,  169-74, 

176,  187-8 
Scotland,  17,  22,  24-5,  90,  101, 

171,   193,  243,  256,  260,  269, 

271,  273 
Scrope,  archbishop,  31 
Scrope,  Sir  Henry  le,  100,  124-0 
Sees,  202 
Selborne,  321 
Senhs,  276,  324 
Sens,  238-9 
Shakespeare,  William,  portraits 

of  Henry  V,  61-85,  104,  318 
Sheen,  182,  302 
Ships.    See  Navy 
Shrewsbury,      13,      254,      324  ; 

battle  of  (1403),  26-9,   61  n., 

64,  67-8,  76 
Siege  warfare,  310 
Sigismund,     emperor,      167-88, 

190,  196,  294,  329 
Sion,  religious  foundation,  302 
Sittingbourne,  321-2 
Sluys,  52 
Small  Hythe,  184 
Smithfield.    See  London,  Smith- 
field 
Solly-Flood,  F.,  330 
Somerset,  John  Beaufort,  earl  of, 

41.48 
Somme,  river,  138,  140-6 
Southampton.    55,    100,    121-2, 

124,  126,  181,  192,  322-3 
Spain.  171 
Story  oj  Prince  Henry  and  Jud'je 

Gascoignc,  330 
Stow,  J.,  Aymalcs,  71-3,  328 
Strecche,  John,  328 
Sudbury,  123 
Suffolk,     duke     of.      IGO,     166  ; 

earls  of  :    Pole,  Michael  do  la, 

137  ;   Polo,  William  do  la,  300 

309 
Sutton,  321-2 
Swords,     river     of      the.        See 

Ternois© 
Swynford,  Catherine,  41 
Swynford,  Sir  Hugh,  41 


INDEX 


343 


'I'aJhot,  lonl.  :]0 

Taiicui'ville,  212 

Taxation.    iSee  Revenue 

Ternoise,  river,  147-8 

Tewkesbury,  321 

Thompaon,  Sir  E.  M.,  327 

Tillieres,  264 

Titchfield.  322-3 

Titus   Livius   Forojuliensis,    64, 

71,  326,  328 
Tonnage  and  poundage,  16") 
Touques,  194,  196,  323 
Touraine,  112,  115,  217 
Tours,  214 
Tramecourt,  151 
Trie  lo  Chastel,  323 
Trim,  10-1  1 
Troyes,    204,    226,    230-3.    238. 

313,     324;      treaty     of,     177, 

214-37.  246,  258 
Truyn,  323 
Turks,  168,  176,  294 
Twiss,  T.,  326 
Tyler,  J.  E.,  329 

Umfraville,  — .  125 
Unfraville,  Gilbert,  145 
Urban  VI,  pope,  170 
Usk,  Adam  of,  327 
Uxbridge,  321 

Vaucourt,  Seigneur,  141 
Vaurus,    Bastard   of,    266,    269, 

272,  313 
Vendome,  count  of,  115 
Venice,  168,  181 
Vernon-sur-Seine,  133,  135,  212, 

323-4 
Versus     Rhythmici     in     laiidem 

Henrici  Quinti,  326 
Vertus,  comte  de,  242 
Vignolles,  Etienne  de.     See  La 

Hire 
Villeneuve-Ie-roi,  238,  264-5,  324 
Vincennes,    Bois   de,    263,    275, 

278-9,  324 
Vincent,  St.,  304  n. 
Vita  et  Oesta  Henrici  Quinti,  326 
Vita  Henrici  Qitinti,  by  R.  Red- 

mayne,  326 


Vita   Henrici   Quinti,    by   Titua 

Livius  Forojuliensis,  326 
Voyennes,  foni,  145 

Wales,  13-36 

Walsingham's  Historia  Avgli- 
c.ana,  32(5 

VValtham,  322-3 

Warwick,  earl  of  :  Beauchamp, 
Richard,  174 «..  176.  186  n., 
200,  206,  281,  300.  32(> 

Waurin,  327 

Wederington,  — ,  125 

Welsh  March.  14-15,  32-3 

Welshpool,  102 

Wenloek,  lord,  41 

Wenzei,  King  of  Boliemia,  167 

Weobley,  324 

Westminster :  abbey,  58-9,  99, 
164,  252,  286;  councils  at, 
110,  114;  Hall,  11  ;  palace, 
56-7,  99,  115,  164,  178,  182 
250,  252,  321-2,  .324 

Westmoreland,  earl  of,  1 14,  255 

Wliittington,  Richard,  124 

Wickham,  323 

Wight,  Isle  of,  289 

Wigton,  earl  of,  256 

WilHams,  B.,  326 

Wincheleea,  120-2 

Winchester,  115,  321-2 

W^inchester,  Henry  Beaufort, 
bishop  of.  See  Beaufort,  car- 
dinal Henry 

Windsor,  12,  179,  254,  321-2 

Worcester,  21,  29 

Worcester,  earl  of  :  Percy,  Sir 
Thomas,  2G-7 

Wright,  T.,  327 

Wychffe,  John,  91,  93-4 

Wykeham.  William  of,  92-3 

Wylie,  J.  H.,  329 

York,  255,  324 

York,  dukes  of  :   Edmund,  107  ; 

Edward,    31,     107,     110,    146, 

148,  152,  160.  166 
Ypodigmn  Neiistria,  326 

Zealand,  114 


PRINTKD    r,V 

WILIIAM    BRENDON    AND    SON,    LTD. 

PL-S-HOTlTH,    FNGLAND 


\ 


Date 

Due 

! 

DECl 

5  1969 

DECj- 

7.  m-  3 

lll\!  FFB 

6  1979 

uui\  rcD 

-'1  rrn 

1  ^'  1979 

Uk^.x   rL'J 

AA 


Library  Bureau  Cat.  No.   1137 


3  1210  00 


45  3826 


i 


I     M 


ill 


sii    i[ 


mm 


mMM 


